Slow-burning fire season could still heat up
Credit to Author: Matt Robinson| Date: Sun, 11 Aug 2019 23:44:25 +0000
A relatively quiet wildfire season has sent firefighters out of province to battle blazes elsewhere, but there is still enough tinder and time to see B.C. flare up again before fire season is over, say officials.
As of early this month, less than 13,000 hectares of the province had burned this year, just 10 per cent of B.C.’s 10-year average, according to a seasonal outlook by the B.C. Wildfire Service. With so few flames to fight at home, some of B.C.’s firefighters were even dispatched to Alberta, Alaska and the Yukon, said Erika Berg, a fire information officer.
This year’s total burn area has ticked up by a few thousand hectares since the time of this month’s outlook, but it is still far from what was on fire in each of the two preceding years. A record 1.3 million hectares burned last year, beating the previous record of 1.2 million, set in 2017.
Berg said fire conditions can change fast and we could see more activity yet.
“The severity of a fire season is highly dependent on local weather events, such as timing and the amount of precipitation, dry periods, thunder storms and wind events. Those are events that we have a difficult time predicting,” she said.
“So even though we are early-to-mid August, like we’ve seen with how the Eagle Bluff fire started, we had a very wet July and folks were maybe thinking we were in the clear. But then those hot, hot temperatures that were seen in the southern half of the province (dried) up those fuels and (made) them very susceptible to combustion.”
Eagle Bluff wildfire near Oliver more than tripled in size last week, but has stabilized thanks to cooler temperatures.
As of Sunday, the Eagle Bluff fire, a large blaze 10 kilometres southeast of Okanagan Falls, was one of just two wildfires of note listed by the fire service. The other was at Alkali Lake, seven kilometres northwest of Telegraph Creek. That blaze started in 2018 and is still seeing holdover fires flare up this year.
The Eagle Bluff wildfire grew little in the last few days due to cool temperatures, Berg said. “What limited growth has occurred, crews have been successful in leading it away from communities.”
Looking forward, the western half of the province has a high probability of seeing above-seasonal temperatures in August and September, according to the wildfire service. That forecast is based on weather data and environmental factors like soil moisture, fine fuel dryness, and vegetation growth, according to the service.
And while rain in June and July put fuel conditions at near normal through most of the province, there are still two primary areas of concern, according to the season outlook. While the northwest tip of the province missed that July rain, the south-central interior caught some but is now rapidly drying out.
That puts areas like the Okanagan on alert to stay fire safe. There are no campfire bans in effect yet, Berg said, but that can change.
“Regardless of how likely a campfire is to result in an out of control wildfire, the risk still remains. So we ask folks to never leave a campfire unattended, and that when they do decide to put it out, to take those extra few minutes to ensure that the ashes are cool to the touch. When those precautions are not taken it could lead to rather costly repercussions.”
Nearly 170 firefighters and support staff members responded to the Eagle Bluff fire Sunday and another 57 personnel planned to remain on it overnight, Berg said. There were also 15 helicopters and air tankers responding, she said.