BC Wildfire Situation “Rapidly Evolving” as 430 Fires Burn
BC officials said the wildfire situation in the province is “rapidly evolving,” telling residents they may see more evacuation orders and alerts in the coming days, CBC News reported (7-24-24).
There are currently around 430 active wildfires, according to the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS). The vast majority of them are caused by lightning, and around 60% of them are considered by the service to be out of control.
A persistent heat wave throughout July has dried out forests in many parts of the province, setting the stage for potentially extreme fire behavior. On Wednesday, stormy weather is expected to continue in the north, and the Interior is forecast to keep seeing strong winds.
BC is seeing increasingly hotter, drier summers and fire seasons that start earlier and last longer than they did a decade ago, and Environment Canada expects wildfires to grow more intense and happen more frequently due to climate change.
Canada will be receiving firefighting help from Mexico and South Africa, in addition to crews that have already arrived from New Zealand and Australia.
FEA compiles the Wood Markets News from various 3rd party sources to provide readers with the latest news impacting forest product markets. Opinions or views expressed in these articles do not necessarily represent those of FEA.