East Kootenay airport under wildfire evacuation alert

The St. Mary’s River wildfire is prompting an evacuation alert for the Canadian Rockies International Airport in Cranbrook.

The Regional District of East Kootenay is also placing an additional 71 properties on the fire’s flanks under a similar alert.

While there were fires cancelled due to smoke in recent days, this evacuation alert is not affecting operations at this time.

Meanwhile, in the Lower Mainland, this warm and dry spell is continuing and that means diligence is needed in the Metro Vancouver area this weekend.

“It should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody that after the dry month that we’ve had those blazing hot temperatures at times, that we have a fire danger rating for Metro Vancouver, Squamish, and Whistler and areas of Vancouver Island, classified as Extreme,” said CityNews meteorologist Carl Lam.

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“That means the danger is very, very high at this point for wildfires to begin, just because those conditions are so favourable for them.”

Perhaps illustrating just how quickly something can develop right now — there was that Chilliwack Lake Road fire near Cultus Lake which sprung up rapidly on Thursday.

At last word, that fire was said to be contained and no longer growing, with crews on-site to monitor and douse hotspots as needed.

British Columbia is expecting the arrival of 100 firefighters from Brazil Friday, adding to the province’s growing international wildfire force.

BC Wildfire Service spokesman Cliff Chapman says about 500 international firefighters are already in B.C., boosting the ranks of the more than 2,000 provincial wildfire service personnel on the front lines battling hundreds of blazes.

He says the firefighters from Brazil will join firefighters from Mexico, the United States, and Australia currently in the province.

Bowinn Ma, B.C.’s emergency management and climate readiness minister, recently requested 1,000 international firefighters through the non-profit Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which coordinates national and international fire management.

Chapman says the Brazilians and the international firefighters already in B.C. will provide much-needed relief and assistance to crews battling almost 400 fires currently burning in the province.

He says cooler temperatures and potential rain are easing wildfire conditions in B.C.’s northern regions, but continued hot weather in southern B.C. is shifting fire activity to the Kamloops, Cariboo, and Southeast fire regions.