The same is true for the Kamloops Fire Centre in the Interior. In the Coastal Fire Centre, which includes the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, a campfire ban is scheduled to come into effect at noon on Friday. The pair also warned people to be extremely careful with any activity that could spark a wildfire, noting that restrictions on campfires and open burning are in place or coming into effect soon across the province. "Report those fires as soon as you see them, because that'll enable us to respond as quickly as possible," MacDonald said. should call 1-80 or dial *5555 from a cellphone. "Thanks to the diligent reporting of the public, which is one of our primary sources for detecting new fires, we were able to get 35 of those 46 fires into 'being held' or 'out' states," he said. In such an environment, early detection of wildfires is essential, the officials said, thanking the public for their efforts to report fires as soon as possible.Ĭhapman said 46 new wildfires started over the Canada Day long weekend, but crews achieved "good success" when responding to them. "We may see some showery patterns with, you know, five, 10, maybe 15 millimetres (of rain) here and there, but it's not going to be enough to alleviate those deep, persistent drought conditions." PUBLIC ENCOURAGED TO REPORT WILDFIRES "Going forward, we don't see much relief in sight," he said. These two factors – heat and lack of precipitation – mean wildfire fuel is increasingly available, and conditions are unlikely to improve as the summer progresses, according to MacDonald. Most parts of the province received significantly less precipitation than normal, extending the persistent drought in many regions. MacDonald said average temperatures in June were one to two degrees higher than normal for the provincial Interior and roughly seasonal on the coast. July and August are typically the peak wildfire season in B.C., as many parts of the province experience their hottest, driest weather during that period. "It now ranks as the third-most hectares burned in any fire season in B.C. "Crossing over the million-hectare threshold this early in the season is quite significant," he said. That doesn't bode well for a wildfire season that has already burned more than one million hectares so far this year, Chapman said. The updated seasonal outlook presented by BC Wildfire Service director of wildfire operations Cliff Chapman and lead forecaster Matt MacDonald at a virtual news conference Wednesday shows hot, dry weather persisting through at least mid-August. is likely to get worse before it gets better. British Columbia's 2023 wildfire season has already seen the largest blaze in provincial history, and an update from officials suggests the situation across B.C.
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