B.C. Wildfire Service will be getting some out-of-province help in battling the ongoing wildfires.
Personnel from Yukon Protective Services, Alberta Wildfire and Mexico are set to arrive in the coming days, B.C. Wildfire Service said in a situation report on Monday (July 27).
The crews, the update adds, will help to strengthen response capacity alongside B.C. Wildfire Service crews, contractors, industry and aviation resources.
There are currently 885 personnel working on wildfires across B.C., along with four incident management teams, 163 aircraft and 125 heavy equipment.
As of Monday morning, there are 135 active wildfires burning across the province. Fifteen of those started in the last 24 hours, while 26 were declared out during the same time period.
Of the 135 fires burning, 57 wildfires are deemed out of control (42 per cent), 30 are being held (22 per cent) and 48 are under control (36 per cent).
Five fires are wildfires of note: Anderson Creek in the Coastal Fire Centre, Pear Lake in the Cariboo Fire Centre, Tower Creek 2 in the Southeast Fire Centre and Ainslie Creek in the Coastal Fire Centre and Brunswick Creek in the Coastal Fire Centre.
Anderson Creek, which was discovered July 21, is now an estimated 10,118.4 hectares. It’s part of the Brunswick complex fires, which are made up of Brunswick Creek, Ainslie Creek and Anderson Creek wildfires.
Pear Lake, which was discovered on July 17, and is now an estimated 63,368.3 hectares. The Fiftynine Creek and Pear Lake wildfires have combined, leading to the new size.
Tower Creek 2, which is east of Kimberley, was discovered on July 17. It’s now an estimated 250 hectares.
Ainslie Creek, which was discovered on July 4, is an estimated 17,999.2 hectares. It’s also part of the Brunswick complex fires.
Brunswick Creek, which was discovered on July 2, is now an estimated 7,397.2 hectares and is also part of the Brunswick complex fires.
The wildfires have led to 32 active evacuation orders and 28 alerts.
B.C. Wildfire Service says that hot, dry and windy conditions are expected to continue through southeastern areas of the province Monday, “continuing the challenging firefighting conditions.”
Temperatures are expected to ease and be closer to seasonal for the rest of B.C. However, B.C. Wildfire Service adds that forecasts shows warm, dry conditions will continue in the southeast portion of the province, potentially leading to new wildfire starts and increased fire behaviour.