Lightning-caused fires to persist, BC Wildfire Service says
The number of British Columbians under wildfire evacuation orders decreased as of Tuesday, while hot and dry weather paired with 29 consecutive days of lightning has led to more than 400 active wildfires across the province.
Bowinn Ma, minister of emergency management and climate readiness, said in a Tuesday afternoon update that there are around 55 people under evacuation orders and 2,200 people under alerts. In contrast, she said that over 5,000 people were under evacuation orders or alerts in B.C. at the peak of this year's fire season.
CANADA'S WILDFIRES: Visit The Weather Network's wildfire hub to keep up with the latest on the active start to wildfire season across Canada.
"Right now, in terms of wildfire evacuations, we are in a much better position than we were last week," she said while also acknowledging homes have been lost due to wildfires.
Although seasonable temperatures are forecast to return this week, officials and the wildfire service say new lightning-caused fires are expected to persist.
Bruce Ralston, minister of forests, said in the same update that the province recorded nearly 7,500 lightning strikes over the last week. As a result, there have been 256 new fire starts in the last seven days, of which approximately 82 per cent are believed to be caused by lightning, according to the BCWS.
(Current active wildfires in B.C. as of Aug. 13. (The Weather Network)
Just under 90 per cent of all active blazes in the province had the same cause, the service added.
Around 40 per cent of the more than 420 fires burning across the province are considered to be out of control by the BCWS.
But the service's firefighting effort has also been robust, Ralston said. He mentioned "night bucketing" — flying and putting out fires at night — as well as spotting fires at night as strategies with positive results.
There are currently four wildfires of note in the province, meaning they are either highly visible or pose a threat to public safety and infrastructure, according to the BCWS. All of these blazes are burning in the province's southern Interior.
Campfires continue to be banned across B.C. except for the Prince George Fire Centre, which encompasses the province's northeast quarter, and the Cassiar zone of the Northwest Fire Centre.
BC wildfire fighters are seen preparing hose to fight the Dogtooth Forest Service Road wildfire in southeast B.C. on Aug. 2, 2024. (BC Wildfire Service)
Overall, there have been just under 1,430 wildfires recorded in B.C. since April 1, Cliff Chapman with the BCWS said during the Tuesday update. He said this figure is lower than the roughly 1,700 blazes the province saw in the same time period last year, but it is still higher than the 10-year average of around 1,100 fires.
The fires were also much bigger last year, Chapman said.
To date, the province has invested roughly $387 million into fire suppression, response and preparedness, Chapman said. He added that this is a 17 per cent decrease from the same timeframe last year.
Ralston said B.C. spent around $1 billion to fight wildfires in 2023, and that the province is permitted to spend what's required to protect communities, rather than facing a limit.
"Fortunately, we haven't had to spend as much or at the same rate this year," he said.
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Ultimately, Ma cautioned that there are still several weeks of the core wildfire season and there could be increased lightning, which could start fires or accelerate their growth.
"We must remain vigilant," she said. "The risk throughout British Columbia remains."
Thumbnail courtesy of Eric Foss/CBC.
The story was originally written by Alex Nguyen and published for CBC News. It contains files from The Canadian Press.
