Wildfires surge in B.C. as province records 11,000 lightning strikes
The number of wildfires ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/topics/wildfire/[/url]) in British Columbia surged past 180 over the weekend, up from about 125 on Friday, as the province recorded 11,000 lightning strikes.
An update from the BC Wildfire Service said a subtropical weather system brought hot temperatures and lightning that sparked fires throughout southern B.C.
But it said crews were prepared for the storm that also brought significant rainfall, helping to moderate fire behaviour in a summer that’s otherwise been very dry.
The service said 75 per cent of the new fires sparked during the storm had already been classified as held, under control or out by Monday.
With that, the number of active blazes ticked down to just below 180 later Monday.
Housing and infrastructure gaps compromising First Nations during wildfires, report warns ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-first-nations-wildfires-housing-infrastructure-gaps/[/url])
The service has warned of the return of hot, dry and windy conditions this week.
Lightning is the suspected cause of a fire that prompted an evacuation alert for about 35 properties in the Metro Vancouver community of Lions Bay on Sunday.
But the blaze has been declared held at a size of about 100 square metres, burning in the forest above the Sea to Sky Highway, and the alert has been rescinded.
About a third of B.C.’s active fires are burning out of control, including four major wildfires of note – the massive Pear Lake fire in the Cariboo region, the Bald Range fire that forced the evacuation of some 20,000 people in and around Summerland, B.C., and the Ainslie Creek and Brunswick Creek fires in the Fraser Canyon area.
There, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District said an evacuation alert covering about 620 properties in the Nicola Valley had been lifted as cooler temperatures and higher humidity helped moderate the behaviour of the Ainslie Creek blaze.
But an alert continued to cover about 280 properties, while an evacuation order was in effect for just under 60 properties southwest of Merritt, B.C.
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The number of wildfires ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/topics/wildfire/[/url]) in British Columbia surged past 180 over the weekend, up from about 125 on Friday, as the province recorded 11,000 lightning strikes.
An update from the BC Wildfire Service said a subtropical weather system brought hot temperatures and lightning that sparked fires throughout southern B.C.
But it said crews were prepared for the storm that also brought significant rainfall, helping to moderate fire behaviour in a summer that’s otherwise been very dry.
The service said 75 per cent of the new fires sparked during the storm had already been classified as held, under control or out by Monday.
With that, the number of active blazes ticked down to just below 180 later Monday.
Housing and infrastructure gaps compromising First Nations during wildfires, report warns ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-first-nations-wildfires-housing-infrastructure-gaps/[/url])
The service has warned of the return of hot, dry and windy conditions this week.
Lightning is the suspected cause of a fire that prompted an evacuation alert for about 35 properties in the Metro Vancouver community of Lions Bay on Sunday.
But the blaze has been declared held at a size of about 100 square metres, burning in the forest above the Sea to Sky Highway, and the alert has been rescinded.
About a third of B.C.’s active fires are burning out of control, including four major wildfires of note – the massive Pear Lake fire in the Cariboo region, the Bald Range fire that forced the evacuation of some 20,000 people in and around Summerland, B.C., and the Ainslie Creek and Brunswick Creek fires in the Fraser Canyon area.
There, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District said an evacuation alert covering about 620 properties in the Nicola Valley had been lifted as cooler temperatures and higher humidity helped moderate the behaviour of the Ainslie Creek blaze.
But an alert continued to cover about 280 properties, while an evacuation order was in effect for just under 60 properties southwest of Merritt, B.C.
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