This could be the worst wildfire season in three decades: BC’s premier
Posted April 22, 2016 4:48 pm.
Last Updated April 22, 2016 4:49 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
PRINCE GEORGE (NEWS 1130) – The premier says 2016 may go down as the worst fire season in 30 years.
Preventative funds are getting a boost and air tankers have been mobilized ahead of schedule. Two tanker groups are ready to go and more will be ready May 2nd.
Premier Christy Clark says we are experiencing three times the number of fires we would usually see by this time of year. She says this is our new normal and they’re adjusting.
“It’s no secret to any of us that the world is getting drier. The pine beetle epidemic, the devastation of our forests, the low snowpack and the really dry weather we’ve had is all related to climate change. We all need to think broadly, as well as think locally about what we can do to make sure that the warming of the Earth slows down and that we get a better chance for our kids to be able to live in the kind of province that we grew up in.”
Clark adds this is why even one human-caused wildfire is no longer acceptable. Fines for ignoring some fire rules have tripled this year.
The premier says they base the yearly forest fire budget on a 15-year average and she doesn’t doubt it will have to increase, as these recent destructive years are factored in.
The BC Wildfire Service says there are 95 active fires around the province right now, with nine new ones starting over the last 24 hours. Most were caused by a thunderstorm on Thursday.
All evacuation orders in the Prince George Fire Centre have been lifted and evacuation orders are dwindling, thanks to a return to cooler weather we should normally see in April.
