B.C. wildfire season extending into fall until stormier weather arrives

VICTORIA, B.C. – The BC Wildfire Service says fire season is expected to continue into the fall in British Columbia as risks for new blazes remain for much of the province.

The service’s seasonal outlook says the risk is especially high in the Cariboo region and the southwestern Interior.

It says thunderstorms and lightning tend to decrease as fall arrives, but terrain remains dry and susceptible to human-caused fires.

It says the wildfire danger rating is unlikely to be lowered until seasonal patterns shift to a fall-like pattern of stormier weather that brings substantial rainfall to the Prince George and Kamloops fire centres.

B.C. has seen a late-summer heat wave this week, with daily temperature records falling in both coastal and Interior communities.

The Wildfire Service says there are about 125 wildfires burning in the province, with eight started in the last 24 hours and nine being declared out.

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“As a result of the late summer’s record-breaking heat wave, combined with ongoing drought, people in B.C. are encouraged to be prepared for the risk of wildfire this fall,” the service’s fall outlook says.

“Open-burning prohibitions remain in place throughout B.C., including campfire prohibitions in the Cariboo, Prince George, and Kamloops fire centres and parts of the Coastal fire centre.”

The service also says in its latest daily update that residents in the northern Interior of B.C. may see hazy conditions in the coming days from the nearby wildfires in the Cariboo region.

The Lower Mainland and the South Okanagan, meanwhile, could also see some smoke from wildfires in the United States.