As 49 active wildfires burn across the Cariboo Fire Centre on Tuesday, July 23 the B.C. Wildfire Service is expecting cool weather to provide favourable conditions to fight the fires.
Jeromy Corrigan, a wildfire information officer with the Cariboo Fire Centre, said that after a long hot and dry spell, the weather seems to be turning in the firefighters' favour. In the coming days, in addition to lower temperatures, he said there is a chance for precipitation which would help decrease fire behaviour.
"There's obviously a significant amount of wildfires in the region and a big part of that is that fire danger rating throughout the region is very high. It's pretty dry out there in the Cariboo and if you get a thunderstorm rolling through there's a good chance there's going to be new starts across the region," Corrigan explained. "(Tuesday) across most of the Caribbo Fire Centre we're going to be experiencing just moderate winds, which is fantastic. It doesn't appear there's any (more) thunderstorms in the forecast."
Corrigan noted that the thunderstorm that passed through the Cariboo on Monday, July 22 was responsible for the ignition of at least 24 new fires caused by lightning strikes. Thankfully the majority of these fires are listed as spot fires and he said BC Wildfire's air assets are keeping an eye out for further ignitions as they fight the current ones.
"The (storm) system provided anywhere from 10 to 22 millimetres of precipitation across the majority of the fire centre which is good news. It should help crews a little bit moving forward working on wildfires across the region," Corrigan said.
He noted that public reporting of wildfires is crucial to them responding to new wildfires. During the storm Monday night Corrigan said they received several reports from residents and he encourages anyone who sees fire activity to contact the BC Wildfire Service at 1-800-663-5555 or via the BC Wildfire Service App.
In the 100 Mile House fire zone, Corrigan said there are 16 incidents the fire centre is monitoring right now, with the thunderstorm playing a major part in starting many of them. While most are spot fires, he noted there are some notable ones BC Wildfire Service crews are currently responding to.
Fire C41440, north of Big Lake and near Moose Valley Park, is currently 20 hectares in size and burning 12 kilometres west of 100 Mile House. Corrigan said that BC Wildfire crews are currently on site containing the fire with the support of aviation assets.
Meanwhile, fire C4138, between Sodium Lake and Green Lake five kilometres northeast of 70 Mile House, is currently three hectares in size. An initial attack crew has been deployed to the scene, Corrigan confirmed.
"Those are the ones we have our eyes on right now because they are new starts in the 100 Mile zone."
When asked how many resources the fire centre currently has deployed in the region, he noted that ground crews and aviation assets are constantly being rotated and reassigned to fires as needed.
"It's wildfire season and the Cariboo Fire Centre is prepared to respond. Our operations team is doing an unbelievable job strategically placing resources to ensure we can respond quickly to any new wildfires that may start across the region," Corrigan said. "Wildfire personnel are constantly monitoring and assessing the potential conditions and the resources that are deployed. Crews are doing a fantastic job in all of our zones when it comes to the Cariboo Fire Centre."
Corrigan also noted he encourages residents to follow the B.C. Wildfire Service website or app for up-to-date accurate information on the fires.
"As we know wildfires are very dynamic and they can change very rapidly. Things could change in a hurry so we want everyone to stay in the loop and be aware of anything that might be happening around you."
