Close X
Friday, November 8, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. Wildfire Official Calls For Vigilance Despite Arrival Of Wet Weather

Darpan News Desk, 12 Jul, 2015 03:51 PM
    VANCOUVER — A change in weather could offer British Columbians a break from an otherwise ferocious start to this year's wildfire season, but a provincial official says a few days of rain isn't necessarily enough to hit the reset button on weeks of soaring temperatures and parched conditions.
     
    "It does appear that we've got a bit of a temporary reprieve from the current situation ... but we are still very early in the summer and the weather is fickle and changing daily," said Kevin Skrepnek, a B.C. Wildfire Service spokesman. "We need to ensure that people aren't getting complacent as a result of this rain."
     
    A campfire ban remains in place provincewide as more than 250 fires rage across B.C., almost 50 of which began on Saturday.
     
    So far in 2015, 1,065 fires have consumed nearly 2,800 square kilometres across the province — a substantial jump from this time last year, when 462 fires had burned a mere 200 square kilometres.
     
    About 2,400 personnel are busy fighting the flames — whether on the fire line or in support positions — more than 1,000 of which are contract workers.
     
    B.C. has called in about 100 personnel from outside the province, including from Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.
     
     
    On Monday, 52 Australian firefighters are scheduled to arrive into B.C. to help with fire relief efforts, while another contingent of Down Under personnel will soon show up to assist in other Western Canadian provinces.
     
    The provincial government has also signed a one-month contract to use the Martin Mars water bomber, a veteran firefighting plane based in Port Alberni, B.C.
     
    "The Mars is an iconic aircraft," said Skrepnek about the aged air tanker, which can unload 27,000 litre payload in a single flyby. "It has a somewhat limited mission profile (but) in the right situation it is an incredibly effective tool."
     
    Skrepnek had promising news about the ongoing battle against the province's top-priority fire.
     
    Crews managed to contain just under a third of the Puntzi Lake fire, an aggressive blaze raging in BC's central Cariboo Region, about 150 kilometres west of Williams Lake.
     
    The fire more than doubled in size on Saturday, from 30 to 70 square kilometres, thanks to strong winds and an abundance of dry brush and timber.
     
    So far several properties have been destroyed by the flames, including a hunting and fishing lodge. An order to evacuate remains in place in the region, affecting 90 properties, while more than 180 remain on evacuation alert.
     
     
    B.C. has lifted all of the air-quality advisories in southeastern B.C., although smoke advisories remain in place in the province's northwest and Central Interior, Provincial Health Officer Perry Kendall said on Sunday.
     
    "Depending on local conditions people should be alert for diminishing air quality — they'll see and smell the smoke," said the province's top doctor.
     
    Children, seniors and people with respiratory problems are encouraged to avoid strenuous outdoor activity.
     
    There remain 22 fires of note in British Columbia, six states of local emergency and 143 evacuation orders and alerts, with orders affecting more than 650 homes.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Lightning Sparks 60 New Wildfires; Homes, Resort Burnt Near Puntzi Lake

    Lightning Sparks 60 New Wildfires; Homes, Resort Burnt Near Puntzi Lake
    VANCOUVER — Lightning has sparked about 60 new wildfires in British Columbia during a season where fire fighting resources are already stretched thin.

    Lightning Sparks 60 New Wildfires; Homes, Resort Burnt Near Puntzi Lake

    Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away: Mother Nature Slowing Fire In Jasper National Park

    Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away: Mother Nature Slowing Fire In Jasper National Park
    JASPER, Alta. — Rain has helped to slow a fire that forced the evacuation of 1,000 tourists and outdoor enthusiasts from the popular Maligne Valley in Alberta's Jasper National Park.

    Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away: Mother Nature Slowing Fire In Jasper National Park

    Police Charge Man With Aggravated Assault In Stabbing At Calgary Stampede Midway

    Police Charge Man With Aggravated Assault In Stabbing At Calgary Stampede Midway
    CALGARY — A man has been charged in the stabbing of two people at the midway of the Calgary Stampede earlier this week.

    Police Charge Man With Aggravated Assault In Stabbing At Calgary Stampede Midway

    Indian-Origin Man Manmeet Singh Bhatia Charged With Robbery In US

    Indian-Origin Man Manmeet Singh Bhatia Charged With Robbery In US
    Manmeet Singh Bhatia and an accomplice, Marc Conrad Kammerman, allegedly held up Check City, which makes loans and cashes checks, and The Smoke Shop, a barbecue restaurant, in Salt Lake City in May.

    Indian-Origin Man Manmeet Singh Bhatia Charged With Robbery In US

    Mohamed Ibrahim Sail, 2nd Suspect In Cellphone Murder Case Turns Self In To London Police

    Mohamed Ibrahim Sail, 2nd Suspect In Cellphone Murder Case Turns Self In To London Police
    LONDON, Ont. — A second suspect in the shooting death of 18-year old Jeremy Cook has turned himself in to police in London, Ont.

    Mohamed Ibrahim Sail, 2nd Suspect In Cellphone Murder Case Turns Self In To London Police

    Ontario Fire Ranger Crew Help Fight Blaze On Boulder Creek In B.C.

    Ontario Fire Ranger Crew Help Fight Blaze On Boulder Creek In B.C.
    Burning trees, thick smoke and extreme heat are all part of the job for a group of Ontario firefighters battling a massive blaze in a devastated swath of forest in central British Columbia.

    Ontario Fire Ranger Crew Help Fight Blaze On Boulder Creek In B.C.