Rain not enough to dampen wildfire activity, yet: meteorologist

Cooler temperatures and rain across parts of B.C. have helped wildfire crews get a handle on crucial hot spots around the province.

1130 NewsRadio Meteorologist Michael Kuss explains the fire-danger rating across much of southern B.C. has improved. It’s still more good news for some parts in southern B.C., with a few wetter days coming up, but he says it’s still too early in the season to say if we’ve turned the corner.

“It’s been an active stretch of weather — that’s meant lightning, and that’s never a good thing when conditions are tinder dry. But a lot of that lightning has come with cooler temperatures and a fair amount of moisture, so it’s a mixed story as far as the weather is concerned, affecting forest fires. We are seeing a cooler trend, but that said, there’s lots of dry days ahead as we’re still barely past the half-way point in August,” Kuss explained.

“We do have a return of warmer air and drier conditions starting on Thursday that could last for five-plus days.”

Lightning is listed as the cause for 90 per cent of the 374 wildfires in B.C., currently.

On Sunday, the BC Wildfire Service explained that increased moisture in the southern Interior was “helping to ease fire behaviour and assist ground personnel with suppression objectives.”

However, it too warned of the risk of thunderstorms in some parts.

“Warm, dry conditions persist across northern regions of the province, supporting the further heating and drying of fuels. We ask everyone to be mindful of activities that could spark a new wildfire, as fuels will susceptible to new ignitions,” the service wrote in its Provincial Situation Report on Aug. 18.

There are currently five wildfires of note in the province. Marking an “important milestone,” the BC Wildfire Service said Sunday the Shetland Creek fire south of Cache Creek was no longer considered “out of control” and had been downgraded to “being held.”

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