B.C. wildfire activity picking up after stretch of warm weather
Posted May 5, 2023 7:23 am.
Floods aren’t the only concern in the province right now, as crews say the last 10 days have kept them very busy when it comes to wildfires.
Some of the affected areas right now include the Chilcotin, near Dawson Creek, and within the Cariboo, Kamloops, and Southeast fire centres.
“It’s been a fairly average spring, from a fire perspective, but I recognize for those communities that had fire adjacent, it probably doesn’t feel average,” said Cliff Chapman, director of provincial operations for the B.C. Wildfire Service. “Year-to-date, we’ve had 131 fires since January 1. The 10-year average for fires in B.C. is roughly 100, so we’re just above average.”
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The good news is the province is below average when it comes to the size of these fires. “We’ve roughly burned 1,250 hectares this year, the 10-year average is over 3,000 hectares.”
Chapman acknowledges the 2017, 2018, and 2021 fire seasons were all considered catastrophic, and admits it’s too early to predict what could happen this summer.
“The weather that’s incoming will obviously be not a bad thing for wildfires. It’s going to see some moisture come into B.C., which should hopefully knock down some of the hazard, but obviously, the counter to that is the flood risk. And we have resources available to support that flood risk.
(Courtesy B.C. Wildfire Service)
“It’s really about rain in the next two months. Rain in May and June is really going to start to dictate what July, August, and September will look like from a core fire season perspective for this province.”
Chapman says the service is ready and has crews on hand to deal with any potential flare-ups.
“Have your grab-and-go bag ready because really at this point in time, we’re unsure what July and August will look like, other than looking at the long-term models, which are indicated that we may not see enough precipitation to knock down the hazards for the province in July, August, and September.”
In this year’s budget, the province announced the B.C. Wildfire Service would be receiving $64 million in capital funding over five years for firefighting equipment. That’s in addition to the $359 million provided in the 2022 budget to pay for annual firefighting costs.
