Janice R. Andrews
Canada’s British Columbia: British Columbia has implemented a blanket ban on campfires in almost all of its regions as it prepares for a more severe wildfire season. The Haida Gwaii Forest District is the only area exempt from the prohibition, which went into effect at noon today with the intention of reducing the risk of wildfires.
At a press conference on Thursday, Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma underlined how urgent the situation is. “We are forecasting and anticipating the potential for a drastically accelerated situation here,” Ma said.
The province is currently seeing 150 active flames after a week of intense heat and lightning strikes. According to Jean Strong of the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS), there is still a significant risk of fire even with slightly lower temperatures predicted. We’re still hot, as anyone in the province’s southern half will attest. It has cooled, but just from 40°C to 33°C, according to Strong.
Alerts and Orders for Evacuation
The northeastern section of the District of Wells in the Cariboo region is still under an evacuation order that was issued on Wednesday. The injunction has an impact on multiple backcountry recreation lakes and a small mine site with roughly 10 employees, according to Wells Mayor Ed Coleman. More than 300 rural properties south of Dawson Creek are also on high alert due to wildfire risks, while 350 properties in other parts of Wells are under evacuation notice. People who live in these places need to be ready to escape at any time.
The isolated Kahntah reserve of the Fort Nelson First Nation remains under an evacuation order that was issued on Tuesday.
Support for Interprovincial Firefighting
Twenty firemen and a spokesperson from the department of natural resources and renewables in Nova Scotia are traveling to British Columbia today to help combat fires in the Prince George area. This action comes in response to a request from British Columbia for 180 firemen, specialists, and bucketing aircraft in addition to the 2,000 BCWS firefighters now on duty. Five hundred B.C. firefighters have been used thus far.
Forecast for the Wildfire Season
Federal officials said that this wildfire season is not as bad as last year’s record-breaking season, despite the current difficulties. Nonetheless, the country’s total fire area has already surpassed 13,000 square kilometers, which is close to the 10-year average for this time frame. The Government Operations Centre for Public Safety Canada’s director general, Deryck Trehearne, said that the nation is currently in the “heart of our fire season,” with the Northwest Territories and British Columbia offering the greatest hazards.
Trehearne pointed out that the provinces are actively assisting one another, and British Columbia has not yet asked for federal assistance. Thus yet, there has been no need for international assistance; nonetheless, channels of communication with the US and other nations are still available. “As we all know, the situation can change very quickly,” he stated.
In order to safeguard communities and stop wildfires in British Columbia from getting worse at this vulnerable time, a campfire restriction is essential.
