More than 33,000 lightning strikes across B.C. last week has led to an increase in the number of active wildfires in the province.
There are 87 active wildfires, including four that started in the last 24 hours, as of Tuesday morning (July 21). Twenty-four were declared out in the same period, Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said in a provincial wildfire and drought update.
Parmar said the forecast is showing more “challenging weather” ahead, with hot, dry conditions and limited rain in the southern areas of the province.
“This past week has been a reminder of how fast our wildfire situation can change. This was our first test this past weekend,” he said, pointing to lightning storms in the last several days. Lightning is the suspected cause of 67, or 79 per cent, of the active wildfires.
Parmar added the majority of new wildfire starts are being kept under 10 hectares, “thanks to the swift, effective action from our B.C. Wildfire Service crews, local firefighters, and other partners, including wildland contractors.”
There are four wildfires of note burning: the Ainslie Creek and Brunswick Creek fires near Boston Bar and Matthew Creek and Tower Creek 2 near Kimberley.
Brunswick Creek has prompted nine evacuation orders and one alert, while Anslie Creek has led to one evacuation alert.
The Matthew Creek and Tower Creek 2 wildfires prompted an evacuation alert for the entire city, including the ski hill, as well as 66 properties in Area E west in the St. Mary’s Lake region.
Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene said 600 properties are currently under evacuation order, while 5,700 are under alerts.
“The majority of the evacuation alerts are due to the Matthew Creek wildfire near Kimberley, where approximately 5,300 properties are under alert.”
Greene encouraged anyone under an alert to be prepared with a grab-and-go bag and to stay informed.
Randene Neill, minister of water, land and resource stewardship, said the hot and dry weather has worsened wildfire conditions in recent weeks and increased drought conditions in many parts of the province.
“We’ve had prolonged dry periods over the last number of years, and elevated drought conditions are forecast to continue across much of B.C. this summer.”
Neill said more communities are already beginning to increase their water restrictions. She asked residents and businesses to take action now to conserve water and reduce water scarcity risk, acknowledging that some communities have started implementing their own irrigation schedules in hopes that streamflows will increase.
“Some parts of the province are experiencing very low streamflows, especially in the Okanagan, where we’re actually seeing record-setting flows, declining stream flows. Rising water temperatures place additional stress on fish and aquatic ecosystems.”
Two watersheds the province is closely monitoring are the Bessette Creek and Salmon River, Neill said. Those two are currently experiencing “such low stream flows that we are concerned about fish population survival, particularly Chinook salmon.”
– With files from Trevor Crawley