Cool, Damp Weather Helps Ease Wildfire Conditions in British Columbia

The British Columbia Wildfire Service (BCWS) says the fire danger rating across the province has dropped to low or very low as cool, damp fall weather arrives, according to reporting by The Canadian Press (9-27-23).

BCWS says that there have been no new fires reported in the last 24 hours, and of the 384 active fires burning in BC, roughly three-quarters are ranked as under control or “being held,” meaning that they are unlike to spread.

Six highly visible or potentially threatening blazes are still listed as fires of note, with four either in or straddling the Prince George fire center in central BC. A fifth wildfire, the 174-square-kilometer (42,996 acres) Kookipi Creek fire, is just north of Boston Bar in the Fraser Canyon, and the sixth is the 168-square-kilometer (41,514 acres) Hell Raving Creek fire in the west Cariboo.

According to The Canadian Press, BCWS says there have been just over 2,200 wildfires across BC since the season began on April 1st. Those wildfires have charred almost 25,000 square kilometers (6,177,635 acres) of trees, bush, and grassland, making it BC’s worst-ever wildfire season, easily surpassing the previous record of 13,540 square kilometers (3,345,807 acres) burned in 2018.

Cooler conditions mean all open fire prohibitions, including a ban on campfires, lifted on Wednesday in the Coastal Fire Center, while the Kamloops Fire Center removed its campfire ban on Thursday.