Heat builds again in B.C. after cool reprieve for wildfire crews

The heat is building again after days of rainfall and cooler temperatures tempered fire behaviour across B.C. The province is also seeing two new wildfires that are considered to be highly visible or pose a potential threat to public safety.

On Thursday, Environment and Climate Change Canada issued heat warnings for many parts of southern B.C., including much of the Okanagan, the Kootenays, the North and South Thompson, and eastern Vancouver Island.

Daytime highs through the weekend are expected to reach the high 30s in Interior areas and the high 20s on eastern Vancouver Island, the weather agency's warning said.

Environment Canada meteorologist Ken Dosanjh told CBC News a ridge of high pressure is building in southern B.C.

He said temperatures will peak around Friday and Saturday, and then cool off slightly into next week. While he said B.C. won't see the same prolonged heat wave as last month, temperatures will be a little higher at night.

"We are continuing this trend of real summer-like conditions." he said. "Earlier in the week we saw that little blip of some wet weather and some clouds well, that's now behind us and we're continuing with the dry and anomalous temperatures for the summer."

Asof Thursday, there are around 1,100 people under evacuation order and approximately2,400 people under alert in B.C.,according to the province's Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR).

New wildfires of note

The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) has nowincreased the number of wildfires of note fires that are highly visible or pose a threat to public safety from six to eight.

The two new wildfires include the 23-square-kilometreDunn Creek fire, which is located near the unincorporated community of Little Fort and on the east side of Dunn Lake. The second one is the 13-square-kilometre Sitkum Creek fire, which is burning near theaccess to Monashee Provincial Park.

Both wildfires are under the Kamloops Fire Centre's area in the province's southern interior and are suspected to have been caused by lightning.

Also located in the same centre is the 244-square-kilometre Shetland Creek wildfire.

This wildfire is "displaying increased fire behaviour on its southwest corner, north of Pasulko Peak," the BCWS said Thursday evening. The service added that increased smoke may be visible from Lytton, Spences Bridge, Logan Lake as well as the stretch of Highway 1 near these areas.

Elsewhere in the province, two wildfires of note are burning on the eastern shore of Slocan Lake in the West Kootenay. A large swath of land, including the entire community of Slocan, remains under evacuation order.

Renewed concerns

As of Thursday night, around 330 wildfires are still active in the province, according to BCWS, with about 40 per cent of them considered out of control.

Fire activities have been lower over the past few days thanks to a recent cool spell, but the heat is renewing concerns for firefighting crews.

Jaedon Cooke with the BCWS said the weather will dry out fuels on the ground, making it susceptible to new fires and increased fire activity.

"The summer's not over yet," she said. "A return to challenging conditions is a real possibility."

Cooke said higher temperatures overnight means there's less chance fire activity will slow down.

"It doesn't give us as much recovery overnight," she said.

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Fire crews in the interior have welcomed the cooler weather and rain this week. That weather is prompting officials to lift the campfire ban for some areas across the province. But as Brady Strachan reports, they are preparing for a return to hot, dry weather expected this weekend.

In a news release Thursday, EMCR and the B.C. ministry of forestssaid many parts of the province are again seeing increased wildfire risk.

"Combined with the record-breaking temperatures in July 2024 and ongoing drought, people in B.C. are encouraged to be prepared for the continued higher risk of wildfire in the province," the ministries said.

Dosanjh said this spell of heat will come with an elevated risk of thunderstorms. On Thursday, most thunderstorm activity will take place near Fort Nelson in northern B.C., he said.

He forecasts lightning activity will move south over the weekend, with little to light rainfall. More rain might accompany thunderstorms next week, Dosanjh said.

The Columbia Shuswap Regional District also warns of the possibility of dry lightning in the coming days. The district said Thursday that residents are "strongly advised to prepare for a possible evacuation should their area be affected by wildfire."

More than 90 per cent of the currently active wildfires were started by lightning, according to the BCWS.

As of noon on Thursday, the campfire ban for the northern half of the province is being rescinded, though campers are being urged to exercise caution when setting and maintaining fires.

Natural Resources Canada says it expects warmer-than-average temperatures and drought conditions to happen more often as the climate changes, increasing the frequency and size of wildfires.