Fire activity expected to increase as extreme heat takes over Okanagan

Temperatures in the Okanagan are rising, which means the risk of the increased fire activity is too.

The Kamloops Fire Centre says conditions don’t fully meet the criteria for a campfire ban yet, however, it could be implemented very soon if hot and dry conditions persist.

“One of the indices that we look at when implementing bans and restrictions is the build-up index. That’s the amount of fuel available to burn and the dryness of those fuels. It does consider the fuel moisture content that could affect the fire’s intensity. With that being said, we have not met the threshold yet to implement that restriction,” said BC Wildfire Information Officer Karley Desrosiers.

“Going forward. if temperatures continue to be in the high 30s and 40s it’s likely that the fuels and conditions will continue to dry out.”

The downpour of rain across the Okanagan over the last few months allowed for the region to recover from last year’s severe drought, as well as delay the start of the fire season.

“Coming into the season there was a hold-over drought from last year, so conditions remained dry over the winter and we understood it would take a significant amount of rain to mitigate those drought conditions,” said Desrosiers.

“However, the amount of rain that we did receive in May and June helped to delay and dampened the start to the fire season that we’ve had.”

To date, the province has dealt with 347 wildfires burning 11,000 hectares, which is a dramatic difference from last year at this time when the province was faced with 1,200 wildfires that were burning around 400,000 hectares.

According to Global News meteorologist, Yvonne Schelle, the hot and dry weather is here to stay.

“The peak of the heat across the Okanagan will be Wednesday, Thursday with temperatures soaring anywhere between 36 and up to 37 degrees and overnight lows just down to 18. Not much of a reprieve for the evening,” said Schelle.

“We will likely have heat warnings that will be issued across the region. It is going to remain hot and dry. The big concern as we approach the next few days leading towards the end of the month will be the fire danger rating, we’re sitting at moderate to high, and we’re not seeing any rain in the near future.”

Heading into August, there is concern the extreme heat could continue, increasing the risks of wildfires.

“We are expecting an increase in fire activity. We have additional crews on standby in areas of the increased likelihood of new starts,” said Desrosiers.

Recently lightning has been one of the most common fire causes. Over the last seven days, 67 new fires sparked across the province, with 47 being lightning-caused and 13 attributed to human activity.

Currently, Category 2 and 3 open fires are prohibited in the Kamloops Fire Centre and most of the province, but by the end of the week, they are expected to be banned right across BC.

by Global News