The summer season is slowly transitioning into fall, but the BC Wildfire Service says this isn’t the time to let up when it comes to awareness around wildfire risk.
Shaelee Stearns, BCWS fire information officer, said the Kamloops Fire Centre — which covers a region from the Cariboo Mountains to the U.S. Border — still generally has a high fire danger rating.
This means forest fuels are dry, and new fires could easily start.
“The summer is not over, fires are still burning, there is still chances for ignition,” Stearns said.
“So just be aware of that, and especially if there's storms that pass through the area, the public is our eyes and ears on the ground. They're the ones who report it. It's super beneficial.”
Temperatures throughout the Kamloops area have started cooling to more of a seasonal average which can help to decrease wildfire activity, but the forecast still shows some hot days ahead.
“Especially going into the fall, we have the benefit of those shorter daylight hours,” Stearns said.
“That means our burn window is shrinking, and we'll see less active fire activity throughout the day, and then those good recoveries overnight. We start to see that decreased activity, the rank one or two smoldering ground fire with some visible open flame. So there's definitely a benefit in there.”
Stearns said there are some predictions for higher-than-average temperatures throughout September.
BC Wildfire Service officials said during a press conference last week there could be warmer temperatures across the province throughout September, and the possibility of stronger winds presents a concern.
“It is hard to predict these things further ahead, we have to rely on a lot of historical trends and information like that. So a few days out, it gets easier to predict and then resource accordingly,” Stearns said.
She said since April 1 2022, there have been 388 fire starts in the Kamloops Fire Centre alone, resulting in 18,138 hectares burned.
Last year at this time, there were 460 fire starts, which caused nearly 500,000 hectares to burn.
“We're not seeing fires that are spreading that aggressively, that quickly, with kilometres spreading ahead and spotting in front of the head of the fire. So there's definitely a decrease in the activity that we have seen,” Stearns said.
“On those hotter days, we might see rank four to five activity, so you see a bit more of some occasional candling in the trees, and you see that surface fire. But we're just not seeing that constantly with that aggressive initial spread on fires. So it has been a good downturn.”
When it comes to wildfire starts, this year, the region benefited from a late start to the summer season, with rainfall and a late freshet.
On Sept. 2, the campfire ban was lifted for the Kamloops Fire Centre, although some areas, including Coldstream, Vernon, Enderby and Armstrong, have extended local campfire bans until later in the month.
Other BCWS bans remain in place, with category 2 and 3 open fires and fireworks prohibited.
Stearns said people spending time outdoors need to remain aware that fires could still start, and should report any possible wildfires through the BCWS mobile app, or by calling *5555 from a cellphone.
