Category Archives: Forest Fires

Hundreds of more homes have been ordered evacuated on Wednesday evening due to the growing White Rock Lake wildfire. The Columbia-Shuswap Regional District has issued an evacuation order for the entire community of Falkland, including the Cedar Creek and Pinaus Lake areas. In addition to the order, the evacuation alert in the area has been expanded to include Silver Creek, Deep Creek and Gardom Lake. The Columbia-Shuswap Regional District says the order applies to all addresses within Falkland, Cedar Creek and Pinaus Lake, in the southwestern portion of Electoral Area D. The Okanagan Indian Band has expanded its existing evacuation order for addresses located between 11497 Smith Crescent and 11071 Westside Road/Mud Hole Road, westward to the reserve boundary. …To the south in the Regional District of Central Okanagan, crews continue to monitor the situation and existing evacuation orders and alerts will remain in place overnight.

More firefighters are battling a blaze about 20 kilometres northwest of Squamish. The BC Wildfire Service reports 21 firefighters and three helicopters are trying to contain the North Cloudburst Mountain Fire, which is burning along the Squamish Valley Road. As of noon on Aug. 4, information officer Gordon Robinson said the cause of the fire, which is 5 hectares in size, is still unknown. The fire is burning at Rank 3, meaning open flames can be seen. With the weather staying hot and dry this afternoon, the blaze is expected to burn vigorously, said Robninson. However, the possibility of wetter weather on Friday and Saturday may help quell the flames.

Smoke conditions persist in some communities across the N.W.T., as wildfire officials provide an update on the forest fire season.   The territory has seen 131 forest fires so far this year, affecting 114,174 hectares of land. That’s slightly below the territory’s 10 year average, which is 175.   Some regions are hotter and drier than usual, like the Beaufort Delta, so they’re seeing more fire activity, whereas other parts of the territory have had more wet conditions due to high water levels.   The North Slave has had the most forest fires this year, with 42 in total, and 22 active fires.   If you’ve noticed smoke in Yellowknife, it’s due to fires in the region which recently merged, said a spokesperson.   A few forest fires have “exceeded suppression efforts,” said Richard Olsen, the territory’s wildfire operations manager, which means the fires are not actively being fought. 

Doug Wilson

The town of Logan Lake is on evacuation alert after a raging wildfire rages nearby, but this community has an extra line of defence against wildfires. …Fire Chief Doug Wilson has created a sprinkler system to help protect homes from wildfires. …The industrial sprinklers, $45 each, are being placed on the roofs of people’s homes and can be connected to a simple garden hose.  “It’s going to bring the temperature down over the home, probably going drop it a good 12 to 15 degrees on the water temperature, creating a mist over the home,” he says. “Any of the flying embers that come in here from behind here on the interface fires off the crown land will no longer land on my roof and ignite because it’s been drenched.” It’s a first of its kind and unheard of anywhere else in Canada, according to Wilson. 

A new wildfire was spotted west of Courtenay near Browns River on Tuesday.  The fire, which reportedly started in a pile of wood debris before spreading to the forest, was discovered Tuesday morning. It covered about 2.5 acres.  It is the only wildfire burning on Vancouver Island.  Periods of extended heat and a lack of precipitation have created an extreme risk of wildfires. The fire danger rating for almost all of the Island is considered high or extreme.

The Garrison Lake wildfire, 33 kilometres southwest of Princeton, has become much more visible due to the growth in the size of the blaze. Now measured at 3,373 hectares, the fire continues to grow to the south and southeast. According to the Erris Volunteer Fire Association, the growth has slowed over the last three days due to the lack of wind. The blaze is burning at a Rank 2 and 3 in most areas, meaning there are visible open flames that are spreading at a slow rate of speed. There is some Rank 5 intensity burning toward the north, where the fire is creating short aerial bursts through the forest canopy and grey or black smoke. Crews from Metchosin and Sooke have arrived to support local firefighters.

B.C. wildfire crews are taking action to contain 250 forest fires as of Tuesday, down from 277 this time last week. The latest statistics from the B.C. Wildfire Service show 61 evacuation orders in place as of the evening of July 26, up three from Sunday. Properties on evacuation order total 3,713, down by 547 as ground crews and aircraft work to contain fires that threaten homes. After winds fanned flames across the B.C. Interior in recent days, there are 85 areas under evacuation alert. The number of properties on evacuation alert stood at 18,234, up 550 from Sunday. Emergency Management B.C.s central region, including the Cariboo and Okanagan, has 48 of the evacuation orders and 55 of the alerts, with a further eight orders and eight alerts in the southeast region.

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This year’s wildfire season has exploded across British Columbia. The provincial government has declared a state of emergency. Hundreds of wildfires are burning and thousands of people are under evacuation order. One of those fires, the Lytton Creek wildfire, made international headlines when it burned the village of Lytton to the ground within hours of starting. That particular fire is still “out of control” and is threatening towns to the north.  To illustrate the recent trend in wildfires and how this explosive wildfire year fits into it, I’ve created a series of charts using B.C.’s official greenhouse gas inventory and the latest wildfire statistics.  This first chart lets you see the wildfire trend over the last three decades. …But, as you can see, wildfires have surged so dramatically that they’ve now overtaken fossil fuels as the province’s major source of climate-destabilizing CO2.

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The cost of fighting wildfires in B.C. so far this year has exceeded the allocated budget for 2021-2022 and has already surpassed the total amount spent fighting fires last year.  More than $206 million has been spent on wildfire suppression since April 1. The allocated budget is $136 million, however, the province has set aside an additional $1 billion to ensure extra resources can be provided.  “The B.C. government will always spend whatever is necessary to protect people and property. When actual costs exceed the direct fire budget allocation, the B.C. Wildfire Service has statutory authorization to spend additional funds,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Forests.  The $1 billion contingency is the largest “forecast allowance” ever in B.C. It can be allocated to other emergencies, including floods and may be shared across ministries.

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The Garrison fire near East Gate, 33 km west of Princeton, has more than doubled in size over the last 24 hours.  According to a BC Wildfire update, as of Tuesday, July 27, the fire is measured at 2,400 hectares.  “The increase in size is due to the fire taking a run to the north in open timber types. Further growth is expected on this fire, which is dependent on the weather, in particular the wind,” the service stated.  On Sunday BC Wildfire measured the blaze at 1,150 hectares. The same day, two large properties were put on evacuation order and another 141 addresses remain on evacuation alert. Just Saturday, July 24, the fire was 450 hectares, compared to 45 hectares on Friday, July 23.  The fire is described as out of control and “interface,” which means it threatens both forest and structures.

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This summer British Columbians are witnessing an unprecedented wildfire season. …the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has been spending more time understanding and preparing for wildfires on our conservation lands. Our staff are responsible for the care and management of 83,353 hectares of natural lands in this province. …NCC has been working for years to clear accumulated forest debris and mountain pine beetle-killed trees on our lands in order to minimize the potential for a spark to grow into a catastrophic, high-intensity wildfire. But sometimes conditions are so extreme that they overwhelm the precautions we have taken. …The Cultus Creek fire currently burning on the Darkwoods Conservation Area is a distressing example of a wildfire that is burning out of control and threatening the very natural values we have been working to protect on that land. …We won’t know the extent of the damage until the fire event is over.

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VANCOUVER — The BC Wildfire Service says there are 258 wildfires currently burning in the province.  That’s down from 275 fires reported in its last update Friday, and down from about 300 earlier in the week.  There are 57 evacuation orders in place, down one from Friday afternoon, affecting nearly 5,000 properties.  Another nearly 16,500 properties, more than 1,000 fewer than the previous day, were on evacuation alert, meaning residents have been told to be ready to leave on short notice.  There are 3,320 firefighters and other personnel working to fight the blazes, including 94 from out of province.

The Thomas Creek wildfire has grown to 6,960 hectares in size and has burned into the area of the 2020 Christie Mountain wildfire, according to a Saturday morning (July 24) update from BC Wildfire Service.  “Fire behaviour is quiet again this morning,” said BC Wildfire, noting that minimal fire growth was observed yesterday.  Although flames have extended into the area of 2020’s Christie Mountain fire, BC Wildfire said this may result in decreased fire behaviour in that area due to a lack of available fuel. The most active part of the fire is on the north flank in a sector containing heavier timber. “Crews and equipment will be working in the Christie Mountain area to create guard lines using existing roads, old fire guards and other natural features,” said BC Wildfire.