A Kamloops woman is facing arson charges for allegedly starting several wildfires in the B.C. Interior. Angela Elise Cornish, 42, was arrested May 11 and charged with four counts of arson. She remains in custody until a bail hearing on Monday. Lisa Hudema of the B.C. Wildfire Service said an “an area of interest” was identified after several human-caused wildfires suspected to be “incendiary in nature” broke out on Crown land this spring. RCMP say a resident in the Monte Lake area was investigating smoke in the hills on April 30 when they noticed a suspicious vehicle, took down the licence plate, and reported the incident to police.
KAMLOOPS — BC Wildfire Service say they responded numerous wildfires between Falkland and Kamloops Monday (May 2). In a social media post Monday evening, the wildfire suppression service for the province states the fires are all suspected to be human caused. The fires are under investigation. “The BC Wildfire Service is urging British Columbians to be responsible, remain cautious, and do what they can to prevent human-caused wildfires,” the service states. According to the B.C. Wildfire Dashboard as of Tuesday morning, there are 10 active wildfires within the Kamloops Fire Centre: three new, two being held, and five under control. Two new wildfires were reported between Falkland and Kamloops: a 0.10-hectare fire near Station Forest Service Road north of Westwold and a 0.01-hectare wildfire near 2km Talbot Forest Service Road south of Westwold.
Plenty of rain and a heavy snowpack made for a slow start to Northwestern Ontario’s forest fire season, but there’s no guarantee it will stay that way into the summer, says the province’s forest fire-fighting agency. Ontario’s Aviation, Forest Fires and Emergency Services (AFFES) is also reporting recruitment challenges in the Northwest as it begins the 2022 fire season. Since May 1, AFFES has tracked just 11 fires in the Northwest so far, compared to around 109 at the same time last year, said fire information officer Chris Marchand. …We’ve had this larger than normal snow pack and fairly consistent spring precipitation that has played a role in slowing down fire activity.” …“Things could turn around very quickly in the space of a week,” he said. “If we don’t get consistent precipitation, that will drive fire hazard conditions.”
A forest fire has forced the evacuation of residents in a community north of Sudbury, Ont. Conservation officers and Ontario Provincial Police assisted with the precautionary evacuation of Shining Tree, Ont., residents Saturday afternoon after a forest fire broke out in the area on May 10. The fire is still burning out of control today, according to the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry. The ministry says the perimeter of the fire is roughly 1,500 hectares, or 15 square kilometres. An implementation order is in effect until further notice that restricts access and use of certain roads and Crown lands in the area.
SUDBURY, Ontario — Highway 560 between Highway 144 and Elk Lake continues to be closed in both directions. A forest fire burning out of control has forced the evacuation of about 50 homes in Shining Tree, Ont., north of Sudbury. On Saturday afternoon, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry advised people to leave their homes immediately and travel east, away from the active fire. An order is in place that restricts access and travel on roads and Crown land in the area. Aerial fire suppression aircraft are working on this fire, which is estimated to cover about 1,500 hectares as of Sunday evening. …There are 17 active fires in the northeast region.
Officials say that while it’s near impossible to forecast what New Brunswick’s summer months will hold in terms of wildfires, the danger is always present. The province lifted burn restrictions across the board Monday following a wet weekend, but according to Wildfire Prevention Officer Roger Collet, the “green” status doesn’t mean there’s no risk at all. “Last year almost 50 per cent of the fires we had to go to were on days when burning was allowed,” Collet said. According to the province’s “Forest Fire Watch” webpage, crews responded to 80 fires through the 2021 season, well below the running 10-year average of 137 a year. Collet said wet weather kept that number low. So far for 2022, there have been 124 fires logged, burning up 119.6 hectares of forest. According to Collet these figures account for any outdoor fire crews are called to respond to.
The Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry is reporting three new forest fires in the northeast region and 23 total active fires across the region. Of these active fires, Timmins 1 is now 1,467 hectares in size and is located 2 km southeast of Morin Village and half a km north of Barager’s Lake, states a news release issued by the ministry. This fire is not under control. The ministry has issued an implementation order that requires the evacuation of the Shining Tree area, including Highway 560 from Meteor Lake Road east to Grassy Road; Nabakwasi Road; all activities within Churchill, Connaught, Miramichi, Asquith Townships; and parts of Garibaldi and Sheard Townships. The order takes effect at 7 a.m. Monday morning. Highway 560 remains closed by Ontario Provincial Police at the junction of Highway 144, and at Elk Lake.
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — More than 5,000 firefighters battled multiple wildland blazes in dry, windy weather across the Southwest on Thursday, including a fire that has destroyed dozens of structures in west Texas and another that’s picking up steam again in New Mexico. Evacuation orders remained in place for residents near the wildfires in Texas, Colorado and New Mexico. High winds prevented officials from sending aircraft to drop retardant or water in many places. Dangerous fire weather fueled by gusty winds, high temperatures and extremely low humidity was predicted to continue through Friday — especially in New Mexico, where the largest U.S. wildfire has burned for more than a month and the governor expects the number of structures destroyed will exceed 1,000. …However, the Forestry Service said a new weather pattern by the weekend is expected to usher in cooler temperatures and moisture.
The US National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported that the 2022 wildfire season activity remains above seasonal norms. The NIFC offers this simple comparison as an example: Year-to-date 22,693 wildfires reported burning 1,264,214 acres; Year-to-date 19,459 wildfires reported burning 527,025 acres; and 10-year average (2012–2021) is 16,609 wildfires and 711,666 acres. The NIFC reports that 1 new wildfire was burning in Colorado. Nationally, nearly 3,400 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to 10 large fires. The Southwest area continues to have the largest fire activity, where five incident management teams are assigned. There are currently 10 large and active wildfires burning across 293,222 acres in the U.S. There are 6 in New Mexico, 2 in Arizona, and 1 each in Colorado and Texas. As of this time only 1 of the 10 fires have some containment.
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LAS VEGAS, New Mexico — Firefighters slowed the advance of the largest wildfire in the U.S. as heavy winds relented Wednesday, while President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration that brings new financial resources to remote stretches of New Mexico devastated by fire since early April. U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez announced the presidential disaster declaration during an evening briefing by the U.S. Forest Service about efforts to contain the sprawling wildfire in northeastern New Mexico, which has fanned out across 250 square miles of high alpine forest and grasslands at the southern tip of the Rocky Mountains. …An estimated 15,500 homes in outlying areas and in the valleys of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains that border Las Vegas have been affected by mandatory evacuations. The tally of homes destroyed by the fire stands around 170.
SANTA FE, N.M. — Thousands of firefighters battled destructive wildfires in the Southwest as more residents prepared to evacuate Friday into the weekend in northern New Mexico where strong winds and dangerously dry conditions have made the blazes hard to contain. The biggest fire in the U.S. grew to more than 117 square miles through the afternoon northeast of Santa Fe. Gusty winds prevented any aerial attacks by midmorning and crews lost some of the containment they had established in previous days. The rapid rate of the spread of the fire was exceeding dire predictions in some areas, incident commander Carl Schwope said Friday night. “We’re in a very dangerous situation. Evacuation statuses are changing as we speak,” he warned at a briefing in Las Vegas, New Mexico, about 50 miles east of Santa Fe.
KRASNOYARSK, Russia – Early season wildfires in Siberia this spring threaten yet another record-breaking fire season in Russia, while the Russian government continues to pour resources into its ongoing war in Ukraine. The more than 4,000 fires in Russia this calendar year have already burned 270,000 hectares or 1,000 square miles, an area roughly as large as the U.S. state of Rhode Island. …Siberia has always had a wildfire season but the past two years have been intense. In some parts of Siberia, June 2021 was the hottest and driest since 1888. Last year’s fire season caused immense environmental and property damage and proved to be the worst on record. The 2021 fires ultimately scorched 18.8 million hectares, an area the size of Greece.