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British Columbia officials say the focus will be on the next 48 hours as lightning and stronger winds could spark new fires across the province, but particularly in its southern two-thirds.
Cliff Chapman, director of provincial operations for the British Columbia Forest Fire Service, said Tuesday that “Particularly in the southern half of the province, but really in the northeast as well, fine fuels are as dry as they can be. They’re as dry as they can be, which means they’re very susceptible to wildfires and very susceptible to spreading quickly.”
He added that the southern half of the province was likely to experience the most extreme wildfires in the next 48 hours.
“Typically about 60 per cent of our wildfires are started by lightning, and in the next 48 hours we will see high lightning potential across the province,” Chapman said.
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BC Emergency Management and Climate Preparedness Minister Kelly Green said there are currently eight evacuation orders in place across the province due to wildfires. Seven of them are associated with the Brunswick Creek complex of wildfires near Boston Bar.
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Green said more than 230 properties are under evacuation orders and about 300 properties are under evacuation warnings.
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Almost 25,000 hectares across British Columbia have burned this year, he said.
Ravi Parmar, B.C.’s minister of forests and minister responsible for the BC Wildfire Service, said about 25,000 hectares have burned across the province in just over 440 fires since April 1.
“I want to celebrate the resiliency we are seeing in communities throughout the Fraser Canyon,” he said.
“At the same time, I want to thank the hundreds of staff who work around the clock in very challenging terrain to protect these communities. They are supported by heavy equipment, structure protection specialists, First Nations representatives, local fire departments and air crews, including two helicopter teams equipped with night vision equipment.”
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See where wildfires are burning on the BC Fire Map.
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