BC IS BURNING WITH AT LEAST 538 WILDFIRES AND MORE EXPECTED - report by JOHN COLEBOURN, THE Province Paper At least 538 wildfires are burning around B.C., with more expected in the upcoming days as the hot and dry conditions will persist until at least Thursday. Provincial fire information officer Navi Saini said late Tuesday that the number of fires at this time of the year is up from last year’s 429 fires. “We have extremely dry forests, and right now a fire can start really easily,” said Saini. One of the biggest contributors to the wildfires around the province has been lightning. “We are experiencing thunderstorms and for the most part there will be no precipitation — it will be dry lightning and that is not good,” she said. Saini said gusting winds have further hindered firefighting efforts around the province. “Be extremely vigilante in the backcountry,” said Saini. “We have campfire bans in many areas around the province.” A number of stubborn wildfires in northern B.C. is also raising concerns about air quality in the Prince George region. Prince George Fire Centre spokeswoman Jill Kelsh said that 16 fires remain very active in its fire zone and they are expected to grow in size. Hot and dry conditions forecast into Wednesday have fire officials on red alert, with nearby Mt. McAllister — a community of 70 people — on evacuation alert. People in the region with health issues are being warned the smoke is making the air quality a health risk. “The weather has been a big factor with these fires,” said Kelsh. About 400 firefighters are battling the 16 fires in the Prince George fire zone. “It is so dry and the wind becomes a factor,” said Kelsh. “At this point we expect these fires to grow in size.” By Thursday, Kelsh notes a low-pressure system is forecast and it could bring some much-needed rain. “Some cooler temperatures and ideally some rain will help,” she said. One of the large wildfires is in the Tumbler Ridge area where the Red Deer Creek fire is 6,401 hectares in size. About 35 per cent of the fire is contained. The two biggest fires in the north are the Mt. McAllister fire (8500 hectares) and the Tenakihi fire (7,000 hectares). In the Kamloops region, fire information office Kayla Pepper said a fast-moving lightning storm blew through the area late Monday, starting a number of small fires. The biggest is the 107 hectare Sugar Lake fire at Mt. Nelson. about 40 kilometres east of Enderby. “That fire is believed to have been started by a lightning strike,” Pepper said late Tuesday. The fires around the province are part of a natural cycle, points out Lori Daniels, a forestry professor at the University of B.C. She said just a few decades ago prescribed burns were often used to burn off the dry fuel that sits on many forest floors. “The prescribed burns would clean up things in and around those rural communities,” she said. But with changing policies in many rural areas, there are no longer controlled burns that help reduce the fire risk. “There is a lot more fuel present and that is a concern,” she said. Daniels also said B.C. at present is one large fire risk. “Right now it is unique, the whole province is hot and dry,” she said. She reminds people working in the outdoors that a small spark from equipment or a discarded cigarette butt can have huge consequences. “Everybody is on high alert and hopefully it makes people watch what they are doing. © Copyright (c) The Province
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 14:12:21 +0000
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