Anyone planning to travel east this weekend should either plan for a lengthy detour or stay home.

DriveBC reports that Highway 16 is closed from four kilometres east of Topley to 18 kilometres west of Burns Lake (Decker sawmill) due to forest fire activity and is expected to remain closed for the next 24 to 48 hours.

While the road is closed, traffic is being diverted to the 150 km Colleymount/Morice gravel road, except for overwidth, overlength and overweight loads.

DriveBC advises watching for traffic control stations for directions.

The next update on the situation is expected at 6 p.m.