B.C. drought ‘a sleeping giant of a natural disaster’: province

The B.C. government isn’t holding back when it comes to warnings about the drought the province is experiencing.

The lack of rain and water exacerbated the wildfire situation through the summer, and widespread drought conditions across B.C. are now cause for new concern as we head into the fall season.

“I want to emphasize how significant the drought that British Columbia is facing is right now. It is unlike any kind of drought conditions the province has ever faced and in my opinion truly is a sleeping giant of a natural disaster that we are challenged with right now,” said Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Bowinn Ma.

“The impacts will be very, very real, which is why we have been communicating to the public since April the need to voluntarily reduce water use and conserve water.”

Ma says most of B.C.’s water basins are still at drought level 4 or 5 — the highest of the scale.

“I think the best case scenario for us going into the fall is gradual precipitation over a long period of time. Not too fast so as to trigger floods or landslides but not so slow that we miss the opportunity to recharge our ecosystems before the freeze comes in,” Ma explained.

She says if not enough rain falls, B.C. could find itself experiencing another drought well into 2024. This is a major concern in the north, Ma notes, adding this region often sees freezing start early in the fall.

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But those aren’t the only two scenarios that are possible for the coming months.

“If we get too much water too quickly, we may see storms and flooding not unlike, potentially, what we saw in 2021,” Ma said.

“I will say that in 2021, we saw the beginnings of an extreme drought situation — nothing close to what we see this year. How we were saved from that drought in 2021 was, unfortunately, through the atmospheric river event, which was catastrophic, to say the least. I don’t say these things to scare people but it is important for us to really understand how serious of a drought situation we are in.”

“I’d like to reiterate that we’ll need several inches or more rainfall over an extended period of time to help alleviate our drought conditions,” Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston echoed.

“Current drought levels are unprecedented and are leading to more severe wildfires, as well as impacts to wildlife habitat and aquatic ecosystems.”

British Columbians are being asked to abide by water restrictions and to proactively conserve water, when possible.

Stage 2 watering restrictions remain in place for much of the Lower Mainland.

-With files from Cole Schisler