British Columbia has already spent about $387 million battling fires so far this year, as crews brace for more lightning-caused starts in the coming days, the director of provincial operations for the province's wildfire service said Tuesday.
Cliff Chapman told a news conference that the price tag marks about a 17 per cent decrease from the amount spent by this time last year.
Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said the province spent about $1 billion fighting fires in 2023, the worst season on record for total area burned.
The BC Wildfire Service said hot and dry weather paired with 29 consecutive days of lightning has led to the more than 400 active wildfires burning across the province.
Chapman said there were roughly the same number of fires burning across the province last year, but they were much larger.
For example, he said, some fires, such as the Donnie Creek blaze, were about 500,000 hectares in size by this time last year. This year, many of the fires are under 10 hectares in size.
"There are lots of them, (but) our initial attack crews have had more success," he said.
Last July and August, he noted, were "very hot and dry" and was followed by an Aug. 18 cold front that "really took those larger fires and pushed them across the landscape."
"This year, we're not seeing a similar cold front pattern, and we have seen a little bit more rain introduced into the system this year," Chapman said.
On Vancouver Island, the wildfire situation is unchanged in recent days with three fires listed as under control, including the Old Man Lake fire near Sooke.
Coastal Fire Centre information officer Kimberly Kelly said the onset of cooler temperatures on the Island is a good sign for keeping wildfires in check.
“There’s still lots of fire season to go potentially,” she said.
Rain is in the weekend forecast for many Vancouver Island centres, including Victoria, Nanaimo and Port Alberni, but Kelly said weather is “a prediction, not a promise” and the fire centre doesn’t count on precipitation until it’s in the rain gauge.
“Hopefully, we’ll see some of that rainfall.”
Victoria has a 30 per cent chance of rain predicted for Saturday and a 60 per chance on Sunday, while Port Alberni has a 60 per cent chance on both weekend days.
The chances on seeing a significant amount of rain on the Island, however, are “pretty small,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan.
Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma told the news conference that there are 55 people under evacuation order, and 2200 people under evacuation alert as of Tuesday.
"The past couple of weeks have been challenging for many British Columbians. At its peak, over 5000 people were under evacuation order or evacuation alert due to wildfires throughout the province," she said.
Ma said the risk of wildfire isn't over.
"With this cooler weather, we may see also increased lightning, which has the potential to cause more fire starts and even further accelerate growth," she said.
The wildfire service is reporting 256 new fire starts in the last seven days, about 82 per cent of which are believed to have been caused by lightning. It said new lightning-caused fires are expected to persist.
A social media post by the service on Tuesday said rapid initial attack have been crucial in keeping the lightning-sparked blazes at bay, and about 94 per cent of all new wildfires in the province are suppressed.
Of the more than 420 fires burning across the province, 117 are considered out of control.
There are five fires of note in the province, meaning they are either highly visible or pose a threat to public safety and infrastructure, all of them are burning in southern B.C.
Campfires continue to be banned across B.C. except for the Prince George Fire Centre and one zone in the Northwest Fire Centre.
— With a file from Jeff Bell, Times Colonist
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2024.
