A forest fire 70 kilometres southwest of Prince George has now expanded to 20,000 hectares.

That means the Little Bobtail Lake wildfire is 50 times the size of Stanley Park. It remains only 20 percent contained.

This weekend, the fire grew as a result of winds gusting up to 35 kilometres per hour.

According to B.C.'s wildlife management branch, there are 270 firefighters, 13 helicopters, eight air tankers, and 22 pieces of heavy equipment fighting the blaze.

The fire has resulted in the closure of Dahl Lake Provincial Park and Bobtail Mountain Provincial Park.

Meanwhile, lighting in the Cariboo region of the province has resulted in five new small fires.

According to the wildfire management branch, the largest is a four-hectare fire burning west of Anahim Lake, which is where Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price grew up.

The branch has noted that there are "unseasonably high termperatures and dry conditions" in many regions of the province.

Even though it's only the middle of May, there have already been "high" and "extreme" fire-danger ratings in some areas.

"The warming trend that has been drying out forest fuels and grasslands for weeks is expected to continue over the long weekend and into next week in most of the province," the branch stated on its website. "The long-term weather outlook for B.C. suggests that temperatures will be above normal in many areas this summer."