It was a busy long weekend for the BC Wildfire Service. Since Friday, teams from across the province responded to 46 new wildfire starts. Thanks to diligent reporting from the public and quick action of aviation and ground resources, 35 of these new fire starts are Out, Under Control, or Being Held. Of the 46 new wildfires from the weekend, 30 percent were human-caused.
The BC Wildfire Service would like to thank members of the public for their vigilance this long weekend. Over 1,000 reports of wildfire were received.
The majority of activity over the last three days has been in the Prince George and Coastal fire centres. Cooler temperatures and precipitation decreased fire activity in some areas of the Prince George Fire Centre.
Nationally, the wildfire situation remains very active with over 3,300 wildfires started so far this year, concentrated in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, and B.C. International crews are supporting efforts across Canada, and B.C. is coordinating additional out-of-province resources through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).
Weather
B.C. can expect more of the same warm and dry conditions this week. A ridge of high pressure is settling over the province, which will continue to dry forest fuels, particularly in the Interior and Vancouver Island. On Wednesday, the risk of lightning increases over parts of Vancouver Island and eastern B.C.
Over the next few days, smoke from wildfires in B.C. and Alberta will spread across the province. This is expected to dissipate later in the week.