B.C. to see cooler, wetter weather

Beachgoers may not be thrilled with a grey, damp and cooler end to the long weekend, but the weather is certainly helping when it comes to snow melt and wildfires in B.C.

The Fraser River remains swollen after the water level at the Mission gauge rose above 5.5 metres on Saturday, triggering a local flood advisory in the Township of Langley covering low-lying properties in unprotected floodplains in Glen Valley, northwest Langley, and Fort Langley.

There is no order to evacuate and the river level seems to have peaked, with the BC River Forecast Centre expecting it to drop below the 5.5 metre mark by Tuesday.

Read More: Langley issues flood advisory for some properties

However, there are still warnings to stay away from potentially unstable river banks and to avoid activities like fishing, hiking, swimming and boating along any fast-flowing waterways.

A high streamflow advisory continues for creeks and rivers for most of southwestern BC, as well as regions in eastern and northern BC. A flood watch covers much of the rest of the province.

A map showing flood alerts and advisories in B.C. (Source: BC River Forecast Centre)

While the cooler weather has slowed the rapid pace of snow-melt in B.C., wetter conditions are also helping the wildfire situation.

CityNews Meteorologist Carl Lam says parts of northeastern BC and western Alberta will see very heavy rain.

“They are expecting 50 to 75, possibly even 100 millimetres of rain as this huge low pressure just sits over that area. And this will last through Wednesday,” Lam said.

“It is beneficial rain that they need to combat these wildfires, but the danger with some of these thunderstorms that develop is that it could spark new wildfires just outside of where the rain is falling.”

The BC Wildfire Service says it is cautiously optimistic that the rain will help crews contain the large wildfires burning near Fort St. John which have led to a number of evacuation alerts and orders over the past two weeks.

Related Stories: 

• Rural B.C. area north of Fort St. John issued evacuation order amid wildfire threat

• B.C. wildfire sparks evacuation order in rural community

• Open burning banned across B.C. to curb human caused wildfires

Meanwhile, a new out-of-control wildfire in the Cariboo region has sparked a new evacuation order.

The Tzenzaicut Lake wildfire, discovered on Saturday, has grown rapidly and become enough of a threat that the order was issued for an area west of Highway 97 between Quesnel and Williams Lake.

–With files from The Canadian Press