Province in good shape, but wildfire season not over: BCWS

The provincial government shared good news on the wildfire front Wednesday, with fewer fires burning in B.C. and cooler weather reducing fire behaviour.

B.C.’s emergency management minister, Bowinn Ma, credited the weather and the efforts of wildland firefighters for the successes so far this season, but she noted that this time of year is often a difficult one on the fire front.

“While evacuation numbers are low and the southern half of the province is seeing some current relief, we are again, still very much in the core wildfire season, and we have seen before how quickly conditions can change,” Ma told press Wednesday afternoon.

“We must remain vigilant and alert ongoing drought and the potential and the continued potential for lightning mean that conditions can change rapidly, even with the rain and the cooler temperatures that we’ve seen in many areas.”

Two wildfires of note: the Shetland Creek wildfire near Cache Creek and the Calcite Creek fire near Princeton are now both classified as ‘being held.’

Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Nathan Cullen says some regions of the province are at serious risk of drought in the coming weeks.

“Even with this rainfall, in many communities, drought conditions still persist and put a strain on those local water resources,” said Cullen.

“The prolonged dry conditions have also raised significant concerns about the well being of fish populations, in particular wild salmon, which rely on healthy and sustained water flows in rivers and streams voluntarily reducing and conserving water can play a critical role in maintaining those stream flows. That’s why we’re urging people, businesses and industry to continue to voluntarily conserve water and reduce water use wherever possible.”

Ma says the province is “in a better position right now” than this time last year.

“Although there are still some areas of concern that being said, we know that due to climate change, we are seeing greater likelihood of prolonged, widespread drought that could very well occur in the province well and has occurred in the province,” said Ma.

The BC Wildfire Service says much of the province will see cloudy skies and cooler temperatures with light winds which should tame wildfire behaviour over the next few days.

The service says an increase in fire activity on the Patry Creek wildfire, including lots of smoke, was observed Tuesday. But it says the Patry Creek fire “remains contained within the existing perimeter.”

Information Officer Forrest Tower says this year’s fires are a lot smaller than what was seen last year — and that’s helped crews get the upper hand on this season’s most challenging blazes.

“We’re still definitely, you know, in fire season, and that’s going to be the case for a while, but we are getting a bit of a break in terms of what weather looks to be, continuing into the next couple of weeks here in terms of more seasonal temperatures and precipitation,”

Tower adds that most of the province will see cloudy weather, cooler temperatures and some scattered percipitation. He says there is a chance for lightning strikes in parts of the province in coming days.

There are currently 350 wildfires burning in the province — just two are considered of note.

—With files from Cole Schisler