BC Wildfire Service still urging caution after ‘slow and somewhat typical’ start to the season

It’s been a slow and somewhat typical start to the wildfire season in British Columbia this year, but that could change at a moment’s notice as the month of May draws to a close.

There are 20 active fires on the landscape, but only two in the Kootenays are listed as burning out of control. As of publication, there were no fires across the Kamloops Fire Centre, but that is expected to change as temperatures increase.

It has been cool and cloudy to start this week, but Environment Canada is projecting that daytime temperatures could creep into the low 30s today, (May 28), nearly 10 degrees above seasonal.

“It’s hard to predict what might come from a season, especially as we’re looking at those longer-term forecasts,” BC Wildfire Service information officer Jean Strong. “We’d really like to see a lot of rain in June, which is unfortunate for people who like to go camping, but we’ll have to see what the weather has in store for us over the next few months.”

Data from the BC Wildfire Service shows 871 hectares of land has already burned across the Kamloops Fire Centre since April 1. Most of that – 808 hectares – was burned by one grassfire that sparked on the Lower Nicola Indian Band’s Hamilton Creek Indian Reserve No. 7 in early April.

There have been 54 other fires across the Kamloops Fire Centre this year and the vast majority have been human caused.

“The weather forecast will continue to change,” Strong added. “We’ll have hot days, we’ll have cool days. I think no matter when that change happens, we will see wildfires in B.C. this year, and its important for people to prepare themselves and their families as much as possible.”