(Vancouver) Wildfire behavior in British Columbia was boosted in late summer by above-normal temperatures and below-average precipitation, particularly in the province’s north. Provincial officials say dry conditions are expected to continue into the fall.
In an update Wednesday, Neal McLoughlin of the provincial wildfire co-ordination center warned that the wildfire season was still in full swing as he took stock of the month of August.
McLoughlin said precipitation in parts of northern British Columbia was 75 per cent less than usual last month, conditions that intensified this year’s record wildfire season.
He said the most notable event was a dry cold front that hit the province on Aug. 17, causing extreme fire behavior, including tornado-like firewheels and intense growth of the McDougall wildfires. Creek and Bush Creek East.
McLouglin said current drought conditions are not unexpected in southern British Columbia, but those in the north are not typical and dry fuels on the forest floor remain “available to burn.”
Most fires in British Columbia this year have been caused by lightning, and fall generally sees less lightning activity, coupled with shorter days for fires to actively spread, he continued .
“So if there are new fires, they will probably be caused by humans,” summarized Mr. McLoughlin on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, fires that continue to burn in the north are expected to continue into the fall and winter, and some of them could “reappear” next spring, he said.
Higher than normal temperatures and below normal precipitation amounts don’t help. We can therefore expect conditions similar to those we experienced throughout the summer to persist into the fall.
Neal McLoughlin, Provincial Wildfire Coordination Center
Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma said during a media briefing Wednesday in Vancouver that as the province nears the “end” of wildfire season, 1,200 people remain under an order evacuation, and 34,000 are still on alert.
She said she’s glad people are slowly returning to their communities, but “the fires we’ve experienced this year will have a lasting and significant impact on people and communities.”
Recent cooler weather in the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District has resulted in the cancellation of all orders and alerts for the 110 square kilometer Casper Creek Fire, which was started by lightning on July 11.
The fire had threatened the communities of Seton Portage and Shalath, west of Lillooet, before being brought under control.
Other evacuation orders are still posted in another area west of Lillooet, where the out-of-control 93-square-kilometer Downton Lake fire has destroyed many homes and cabins around Gun Lake and burned to the boundary of South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park.
The Wildland Fire Service says large fires such as the Ross Moore and Downton fires will continue to smolder until there is significant rain or snowfall, but it says no new fires forest has not been started in the last day and the number of active fires has fallen below 400.