B.C. officials provide update as over 400 wildfires burn
CANADA'S WILDFIRES: Visit The Weather Network's wildfire hub to keep up with the latest on the active wildfire season across Canada.
B.C. officials will be providing an update on the current wildfire situation Wednesday morning as the number of blazes continues to grow across the province.
There are currently around 430 active wildfires, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS). The vast majority of them are caused by lightning, and around 60 per cent of them are considered by the service to be out of control.
(July 24 update)
These fires have placed thousands of people under alert, while hundreds have had to flee.
The update, led by B.C. Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma, will be at 11:30 a.m. PT and will be carried live on cbc.ca/bc and CBC News Fast.
RELATED: Thousands remain on evacuation alert in B.C. due to wildfires
A persistent heat wave throughout July has dried out forests in many parts of B.C., setting the stage for potentially extreme fire behaviour.
B.C. is seeing increasingly hotter, drier summers and fire seasons that start earlier and last longer than they did a decade ago, and Environment Canada expects wildfires to grow more intense and happen more often thanks to human-caused climate change.
On Wednesday, stormy weather is expected to continue in the north, and the Interior is forecast to keep seeing strong winds.
Despite the unstable conditions, progress has been made on some of the notable wildfires.
(July 24 update)
On Tuesday, the BCWS listed the River Valley wildfire in Williams Lake, B.C., as being held, which means crews don't expect it to expand at this point. The city subsequently lifted its evacuation alert that afternoon.
There continues to be four wildfires of note, which are those that are "highly visible or pose a potential threat to public safety," according to the BCWS. These are the Antler Creek, Shetland Creek, Aylwin Creek and Komonko Creek fires.
WATCH: B.C. resident shares concerns over increasing heat and wildfire threat
While B.C. deals with fires, it has also opened its doors to hundreds of wildfire evacuees fleeing Jasper, Alta., and the Jasper National Park Tuesday. A welcome centre was immediately set up in Valemount, B.C., a community of about 1,000 people, with residents offering space in homes and businesses to help evacuees looping back to Calgary or Grande Prairie.
(July 24 update)
RELATED: Thousands of tourists among those forced to flee Jasper National Park
The B.C. government warned that the province didn't have the capacity to take in thousands of evacuees.
Government officials say at least 10,000 people were forced to evacuate from the mountain town of Jasper and an estimated 15,000 visitors in the national park were told to leave late Monday night as wildfire advanced toward the community.
B.C.'s Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma and Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston will be joined by other officials to provide an update at 11:30 a.m. PT.
WATCH: Wildfire near Jasper National Park prompts evacuation orders
Thumbnail courtesy of Spencer Stratton via CBC.
The story was originally written by and published for CBC News on July 24, 2024.
