Close X
Thursday, November 28, 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

    Arsonist Still At Work As Three More Fires Reported In North Vancouver

    VANCOUVER — Three more small fires have been set along a popular hiking trail in North Vancouver, B.C., where about 10 blazes were sparked on Wednesday morning.

    Arsonist Still At Work As Three More Fires Reported In North Vancouver

    Error Turns Into $1.1 Million Win For Nine Online BC Lottery Corp. Players

    Error Turns Into $1.1 Million Win For Nine Online BC Lottery Corp. Players
    KAMLOOPS, B.C. — The BC Lottery Corp. says it is paying nine gamblers nearly $1.1 million because of a software error in one of its online video games.

    Error Turns Into $1.1 Million Win For Nine Online BC Lottery Corp. Players

    Boredom, Anxiety Weigh On Saskatchewan Evacuees Who Fled Flames And Smoke

    Boredom, Anxiety Weigh On Saskatchewan Evacuees Who Fled Flames And Smoke
    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — Trisha Halkett has one wish as she spends her second week out of her northern Saskatchewan home because of threatening wildfires. 

    Boredom, Anxiety Weigh On Saskatchewan Evacuees Who Fled Flames And Smoke

    B.C. Teenager Convicted Of Cyber 'Swatting' Sentenced To 16 Months In Jail For Criminal Harassment

    B.C. Teenager Convicted Of Cyber 'Swatting' Sentenced  To 16 Months In Jail For Criminal Harassment
    PORT COQUITLAM, B.C. — A British Columbia teenager has been sentenced to 16 months in jail for online pranks and threats that caused mayhem in communities as far away as Ontario, California and Florida.

    B.C. Teenager Convicted Of Cyber 'Swatting' Sentenced To 16 Months In Jail For Criminal Harassment

    Police Watchdog Called In To Probe RCMP Shooting On Vancouver Island

    Police Watchdog Called In To Probe RCMP Shooting On Vancouver Island
    PORT HARDY, B.C. — Mounties on northern Vancouver Island say the province's police watchdog is now investigating the shooting death of a man by officers.

    Police Watchdog Called In To Probe RCMP Shooting On Vancouver Island

    Pace Of Canadian Housing Starts Picks Up In June, Better Than Expected

    Pace Of Canadian Housing Starts Picks Up In June, Better Than Expected
    Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.'s seasonally adjusted rate of residential construction starts rose to 202,818 in June, up from 196,981 units in May.

    Pace Of Canadian Housing Starts Picks Up In June, Better Than Expected