Category Archives: Forest Fires

B.C. wildfire crews were “aggressively” tackling a two-hectare wildfire that sparked up and came within several hundred metres of Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail on Tuesday. The McQuarrie Creek fire, which was believed to have been triggered by lightning, was fought using ground crews, helicopters and four air tankers. Crews made good progress by nighttime, said the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary. The blaze was considered a “slope-driven fire” and it wasn’t believed to be threatening any structures, according to the BC Wildfire Service. It was burning between the hospital and JL Crowe Secondary School, though it was also moving away from town.

Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for parts of Northern B.C. with as much as 10 centimetres expected for Dawson Creek, Chetwynd and Highway 97 between Pine Pass and Chetwynd for Tuesday night. You’d think that would snuff out any fires burning in that region at least, but not necessarily. As we’ve seen in past fire seasons, wildfires can smoulder underground or even inside trees. …Experts say fires like the ones we’ve experienced in the province over the last couple of years can continue burning right into the next fire season.

As smoke continues to sweep across Alberta from B.C., officials in Cochrane are continuing work on a multi-year process to protect the town from wildfire. The town northwest of Calgary is in the second phase of working to become a FireSmart community. Deputy fire Chief Shawn Polley said right now the town is planning for areas they identified as high-risk and close to combustible materials. “In the wildfire threat assessment, we identified a number of hazards in the six open spaces, and there were recommendations in how to reduce the wildfire threat to life and property,” Polley said. “It’s a really great, exciting project for the town.” …GlenEagles resident Maureen Anderson welcomes the FireSmart measures in her community, and said wildfire season seems to be getting worse every year. 

Sixty-two members of the Canadian Armed Forces descended on Princeton, B.C. Saturday afternoon to assist with fire suppression efforts at the Cool Creek wildfire. The 12,685 hectare fire is still classified as out of control. It was caused by a lightning strike and detected on Aug. 15 and is burning approximately 20 kilometres northeast of Eastgate. The military members relocated from Merritt to Princeton to assist ground crews. “Right now they are assisting us with mop up which means patrolling the burned area and extinguishing any hot spots that they find,” said BC Wildfire Service information officer Brenna Ward.

Days after a fire burning south of the town of Waterton started growing again and spread into Canada, fire crews are thanking a previous fire for creating a fire break. A dry, windy Friday afternoon saw the Boundary Valley fire — burning roughly seven kilometres south of Waterton — grow from 703 hectares to 1,092 hectares. At last report, only 12 per cent of the fire is under control. “The 2017 Kenow Fire burned much of the area to the north and west of this new area of fire,” said the Northern Rockies Incident Management Team in a release. “Reduced fuels in this recently burned area should help act as a fire break.” The Kenow wildfire, which started in B.C. before it jumped the border into Alberta, triggered an evacuation of Waterton Lakes National Park on Sept. 7, 2017.

Crews battling a wildfire near the U.S. border in Alberta are hoping an avalanche path will prevent the flames from spreading further into a national park that was badly burned last year. Dry and windy conditions Friday afternoon pushed the Boundary Wildfire north across the border for the first time into Waterton Lakes National Park in southwestern Alberta. Parks Canada says in a news release the area received a small amount of rain overnight, but it was so small that it couldn’t be measured, and Saturday’s forecast called for strong winds and sun. John Stoesser, a spokesman for Parks Canada, says the flames have reached a stretch of mountainside that has been swept mostly bare of trees by winter avalanches.

Crews are making steady progress on a number of wildfires across the province, thanks in part to water drops like the one captured in a recent viral video. In the video, pilots expertly douse a batch of flames burning in the Shovel Lake wildfire with a level of precision that is hard to believe. An Erikson S64 Aircrane approaches a fire after filling its giant tank with water using a long hose — sea snorkel — dangling from the aircraft.  

While 12 wildfires continue to burn in the Monashee Complex — which ranges from south of Highway 6 to Three Valley Gap — officials say the worst may be over. Now ranked the worst wildfire season in B.C.’s history with nearly 1.3 million hectares of forest burned as of Aug. 29, cooling temperatures and the declining risk of dry lightning have lead to reduced fire activity. The Monashee Complex began with 27 wildfires blazing. Of the 12 that continue to burn, the Mabel Creek fire located approximately 47 kilometres east of Salmon Arm remains the largest at 1,370 hectares. …Despite cooling temperatures and reduced fire activity across the province, Environment Canada said people should remain wary of smoke. Special air quality statements were released for the North Okanagan Monday, Sept. 3. Smoke is expected to return heavily Wednesday, Sept. 5 with northern winds blowing smoke from the fires in Washington State.

Doug Donaldson

PRINCE GEORGE – Approximately 500 fires are still burning across BC but the fires of note have come down to roughly 18. Forest Minister, Doug Donaldson stopped by Prince George on the weekend to give an update on the fires throughout the Province. “The fires across the Northwest Centre and Prince Geroge Centre are looking better, we’ve had a bit of rain. Rain doesn’t put fires out, it’s the crews on the ground that actually put the fires out but rain helps because it allows them to take a more aggressive attack on fires doing back burning for instance, really doing a direct attack on the fires.” …Donaldson says this is a big fire season in terms of the number of hectares burnt. It’s the largest number the province has seen on record. 

According to the B.C. Wildfire Service, 420 of the 1,950 wildfires that created havoc across our province this year were caused by humans. …It has been estimated that about 40 per cent of forest fires over the past 10 years were caused by humans. That translates into about 660 fires a year, on average. It’s hard to put a total dollar value on the costs involved. Last year, the province spent $568 million fighting fires. This year, the figure is $275 million and counting. …Part of the problem is the aging of our forests. Forty years ago, B.C. had 18 million hectares of trees more than a century old. Today, that number is 25 million. The mountain pine beetle infestation that peaked in 2005 has also played a role. 

The BC Wildfire Service says precipitation and favourable weather have allowed it to contain one of the province’s largest active wildfires, more than a month after it was initially discovered. After growing to more than 900 square kilometres, the fire burning near Shovel Lake in northwestern B.C. was hit with scattered showers overnight, and Claire Allen of the BC Wildfire Service said any further growth is unlikely. “We’re not under control yet, seeing as there is still a lot of internal activity and a lot of work for crews to do over the next few weeks here,” Ms. Allen said on Sunday. That work includes clearing up hotspots, perimeter patrols and assessing potentially-dangerous tree falls. The nights in the northwest part of B.C. are becoming quite cool and dropping to near-freezing levels, which Ms. Allen said reduces their burning window considerably, although the turn of seasons does not necessarily mean the end of the wildfire season.

By the end of June, there had been more than 560 wildfires in British Columbia. …In Australia, intentionally or even unintentionally causing a bushfire… is a serious offence that carries a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment. …In Hood River, Oregon, in May, a judge ordered a Vancouver, Washington, teenager who threw two firecrackers to pay nearly $37 million in restitution over at least 10 years after he started a major wildfire last year. Here in B.C. last year, the fine for ignoring fire restrictions was increased to a measly $1,100; even then, it was an increase of 218 per cent from previous fines. Failing to properly dispose of burning substances, such as cigarette butts, now carries a ticket of $575. …A solution: Take people convicted of carelessness with burning substances… to the sites of human-caused fires to see what stupidity looks like…

With the wildfire risk in the province still high, the B.C. Wildfire Service is reminding the public to be careful this coming long weekend. “The 2018 fire season is far from over. While temperatures have dropped, various levels of rainfall are occurring, and the smoke has cleared throughout most of the province, the risk of wildfires remains high,” the service said in a Thursday news release. Campfire bans remain in effect for most of the province and the public should exercise caution to prevent human-caused wildfires, they add. “Whatever your activities this Labour Day long weekend, remember there are wildfire crews working hard in the bush.” …Anyone found in violation of an open-burning prohibition may be issued a violation ticket for $1,150, may be required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000 or, if convicted in court, may be fined up to $100,000 and faces a one-year jail sentence.

Kevin Skrepnek

The worst of this year’s wildfire season is likely over, but some experts say burning forests and smoky skies could be the new reality in B.C. for summers to come. In his daily media briefing Thursday afternoon, B.C. Wildfire Service chief fire information officer Kevin Skrepnek said it was “probably safe to say the worst is over,” although several large fires were still burning across the province and more than 1,000 properties remained under evacuation orders. Cooler weather was expected to help with fire suppression and prevention moving into the fall and winter months, which meant the number of active fires was expected to gradually decrease through September. But University of Alberta wildfire expert Mike Flannigan said the reprieve may be temporary. “The climate is changing and this is the new reality,” he told Postmedia News. “We’ve been predicting more fire in B.C., but we weren’t expecting this much, this soon.”

The B.C. government says although wildfires have broken last year’s record for the area of land burned, the human impacts have been much lower. Fire information officer Kevin Skrepnek of the BC Wildfire Service said fires have scorched about 12,520 square kilometres this season, compared with 12,160 square kilometres last year. …The 2017 and 2003 fire seasons had higher impacts in terms of property, environmental and timber values, he said, although he did not have all of those figures readily available. Emergency Management B.C. said it has received 155 reports of structures lost, compared with the 310 reported by the same date last year. However, it noted that figure could change as people return home and report what they find. In terms of fire suppression costs, Skrepnek said the service has spent $316-million to date this season, compared with $442-million for the same date last year.

Robert Mellalieu

Glenrosa residents fleeing a forest fire could be at risk if they use the two designated evacuation routes, West Kelowna city council has heard. The 40- and 50-kilometre routes present a challenging drive along narrow and poorly maintained forest service roads, says a representative of the Glenrosa Residents Association. “We’re very concerned about the safety of that thing,” Robert Mellalieu told council on Tuesday. “It’s too rough and dusty for 3,000 panicked Glenrosians to try to (use) if there’s a forest fire.” Two evacuation routes have been designated for Glenrosa, both of which extend off the northern end of Glenrosa Road near the site of the long-closed Crystal Mountain ski hill. …The residents association, he said, would like to see a bridge built across Powers Creek to connect Glenrosa with the Smith Creek neighbourhood, offering a faster and safer way out of the community if it were threatened by fire.

The B.C. government has extended the provincial state of emergency because of wildfires that have now burned more area than any other season on record. As of Tuesday, more than 12,984 square kilometres of the province had burned, pushing past the previous record set just one year earlier. As 534 fires continued to burn on Wednesday morning, the province announced that it has extended the state of emergency through to the end of the day on Sept. 12. About 3,200 people have been removed because of the wildfires, and another 21,800 are on alert.  In the catastrophic wildfire season of 2017, which saw 65,000 people forced from their homes, 12,161 square kilometres of British Columbia went up in flames. Scientists suggest there are several reasons for the severity of the last two wildfire seasons in B.C., including a lack of controlled burning and aggressive firefighting efforts that have allowed potential fuels to build up across the province.

Scott Cunningham

Parts of British Columbia normally guarded from large wildfires due to their wet climates are burning, and scientists are taking note. As smoke begins to clear above much of southern Vancouver Island, a dark and concerning cloud still hangs over the island’s northernmost reaches. According to the B.C. Wildfire Service, 67 blazes currently rage on the northern section of Vancouver Island. They include a 168-hectare fire near the small community of Zeballos that has threatened homes and prompted an evacuation alert. But what makes the dozens of hotspots so concerning to experts is the fact that this normally wet region is extraordinarily dry. “Forest fuels are drier than they have been in the past 40 years,” North Island fire information officer Shayne McCool told CTV News. …”We are seeing fires in places that typically don’t get wildfire,” said Faron Anslow, the lead climate scientist at the University of Victoria’s Pacific Climate Impact Consortium. 

It’s two down and a lot more to go, regarding wildfires in B.C’s Southern Interior. The Mount Gottfriedsen and Darke Creek wildfires have been classified as being under control, and those fires have been taken off the B.C. Wildfire Service’s interactive map. Helping the cause was weekend rain, with 6.4 millimetres falling in the Central Okanagan. “Rain is beneficial and (firefighting conditions) have improved too, by the fact that we have cooler temperatures,” said B.C. Wildfire Service information officer Nicole Bonnett. “Those usually go hand-in-hand with reducing fire behaviour and fire intensity, which gives crews a bolster in their efforts.” …However, not all fires in the Kamloops Fire Region are close to being put out. In fact, three in the Similkameen region are still classified as being out of control.

The BC Wildfire Service says rainfall and cooler temperatures mean a return to more seasonal weather conditions, reducing the risk of wildfires in the province’s northeast. …Despite the cool and damp weather on the weekend, most of the province, including Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, remains under air quality advisories due to wildfire smoke. The wildfire service says 2018 has officially become the second-worst wildfire season on record, with 9,450 square kilometres of land burned, behind 2017, when over 12,000 square kilometres were scorched. The third-worst year for wildfires in B.C. was 1958.

Parts of Alberta may have been blessed by rain and cooler temperatures over the weekend, but officials say the province isn’t yet out of the woods as far as wildfires go this season. There were 19 wildfires in Alberta as of Monday, including eight being held and another eight considered under control. …The evacuation alert for Waterton Lakes National Park was lifted Monday morning after about 20 millimetres of rain helped control a wildfire that reached Boundary Creek over the weekend. The wildfire, south of Waterton, grew to approximately 860 hectares and was classified as out of control.