Heat, wind, and fire: B.C. faces it all after a record-breaking week
The wildfire danger keeps climbing across British Columbia as a heat wave brings sweltering temperatures to the region causing significant concern
From a record number of wildfires to record high temperatures, British Columbia has had quite the eventful and record-breaking summer so far. Unfortunately, these records may only keep breaking.
While residents will be able to get some reprieve from the intense heat, conditions will only become more favourable for wildfires in the coming days.
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Record-setting 40°C heat
Much of southern B.C. has been in the throes of a brutal heat wave recently, with the province recording the first 40°C day in Canada for 2023 on Monday. This comes only for 17 communities in the province the next day to reach new record-breaking temperatures for August, and three more communities reaching their previous record-high temperatures.
On Tuesday Aug. 15, temperatures reached up to, or above 40°C in four communities:
Warfield, B.C. recorded 41.6°C
Pemberton airport recorded 40.1°C
Lytton recorded 40.7°C, while the Lytton Climate station recorded a brutal 42.2°C
Lillooet recorded 40.6°C
Heat eases, but with concern for new wildfire starts
Those in B.C. will have to stick out the heat for another day until cooler, more seasonal temperatures begin to move into the province on Friday.
A cold front is going to sweep south across the province, dragging cold air from the north to provide some much needed relief from the heat. However, this relief will come as a double-edged sword as blustery winds will also trail along the front. This could prove to be dangerous for the province that is already in the midst of battling a record number of wildfires this year. Wind gusts exceeding 50 km/h are possible, along with the threat for dry lightning.
"We're going to see a cold front move down across the province that's going to interact with an upper ridge, and probably bring in dry lightning unfortunately, and even higher winds," says Sarah Budd, provincial information officer with the BC Wildfire Service. "So, we're bracing for that, as that is going to involve new fire starts on top of the fires that we already have."
There are approximately 370 wildfire currently burning across the province, with more than 140 of those being classified as "out of control."
The greatest risk for new fires this week are particularly in the southern and Interior regions, where residents are being warned that they may need to leave their homes.
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According to the BC Wildfire Service, evacuation orders that cover more than 200 properties around Gun Lake, north of Pemberton, were close to being lifted, but those plans have now stalled with the incoming wind and dry lightning risks. The Downton Lake fire has destroyed three properties.
The province has already seen the worst wildfire season on record, with more than 1700 wildfires that have burned about 1.5 million hectares of land.
With files from CBC News.
