British Columbia’s Wildfire Service Facing Over 300 Wildfires Currently Burning Across the Province

British Columbia’s Wildfire Service resources are being stretched to the max, as more than 300 wildfires burning across the province. As a result, the Wildfire Service said it is prioritizing fires that threaten lives and property, while at the same time prioritizing the safety of its crews. Firefighters are facing conditions typical for August, rather than mid-July. This that result of a record-breaking heat wave, more than 200,000 lightening strikes, and drought-like conditions.

At a news conference held with Emergency Management B.C., RCMP and public health officials, on Thursday afternoon (7-15-21), Kurtis Isfeld of the B.C. Wildfire Service said, “With the current resource challenges, we are unable to commit to all ignitions, which means our focus at this point is on allocating those resources to values of life and safety.” Isfeld went onto say that the service is also prioritizing the safety of responders given the wildfire season will likely drag into the fall.

Out of 306 active wildfires on Thursday, 37 were considered wildfires of note, meaning they are highly visible or pose a potential threat to public safety. To that end, the service has started deploying two initial attack crews to battle new blazes instead of the usual one in a bid to further slowdown the fires so ground crews can get to them when they’re still small.