Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Hot spell add to wildfire woes

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 14 Aug, 2023 12:03 PM
  • Hot spell add to wildfire woes

Wildfire crews battling several major blazes around British Columbia had a busy but not overwhelming weekend, although the BC Wildfire Service says challenging conditions could arrive within days as heat and powerful winds settle over the southern half of the province.

The wildfire service is reporting about 375 fires around B.C., with about 11 recorded since midday Sunday and another 11 still ranked as fires of note, meaning they are highly visible or threaten people or property.

One of those, the Ross Moore Lake fire south of Kamloops, now covers more than 72 square kilometres, and on Sunday prompted a revised evacuation order for two properties east of Lac Le Jeune and an updated evacuation alert covering 343 properties.

Plans to carry out controlled burns south of Lac Le Jeune have been thwarted by wind, but in southeastern B.C. the wildfire service says crews were able to strengthen containment lines around a nearly 10-square-kilometre blaze just west of Sparwood, as they brace for gusty winds forecast on Thursday.

Crews also had to work fast to douse flames that broke out Sunday on the hill just above Teck Resources' Trail operations, potentially threatening the work site as well as some homes near the community of Warfield.

The wildfire service says one of its helicopters, aided by a full response from Kootenay Boundary firefighters and Teck's trained crews, had handled the suspected human-caused blaze within hours.

The fire danger rating in that area, and for most of southern B.C., is ranked at moderate to high, while mapping shows the majority of the province remains at a drought level of four or five on the five-point scale, meaning serious economic effects from the dry conditions are likely or almost certain.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Business groups ask government for labour changes after end of B.C. port dispute

Business groups ask government for labour changes after end of B.C. port dispute
Business groups continued to call on the federal government to take action in the wake of the recently resolved British Columbia port workers dispute on Saturday, arguing Ottawa must ensure such a disruption never happens again. But the federal government is walking a difficult tightrope between the demands of the business community and protecting workers' constitutional rights.

Business groups ask government for labour changes after end of B.C. port dispute

Mounties in Coquitlam seek witnesses to attempted murder in city park

Mounties in Coquitlam seek witnesses to attempted murder in city park
Coquitlam RCMP say they're investigating an altercation between "at least two adult males" in Brookmere Park that occurred around 9:15 in the morning. Investigators say they're looking for more witnesses and any video footage of the altercation, but the nature of what exactly happened remains unknown. 

Mounties in Coquitlam seek witnesses to attempted murder in city park

Edmonton police charge man with attempted murder after unprovoked machete attacks

Edmonton police charge man with attempted murder after unprovoked machete attacks
Bobby-James Lavallee, who is 33, of Prince George, B.C., is charged with attempted murder, four counts of aggravated assault and breaches of conditions. Police are asking for the public’s help to locate the machete as it may still be near the scene.

Edmonton police charge man with attempted murder after unprovoked machete attacks

Cyclospora Outbreak in BC

Cyclospora Outbreak in BC
The B-C Centre for Disease Control says there have been a record high 43 cases of cyclospora infections in the province this year. The illness is from a parasite not found in Canada but the centre says infections are linked to eating contaminated, imported raw produce, especially leafy greens, fresh herbs and berries.

Cyclospora Outbreak in BC

More Osoyoos, B.C., wildfire evacuees can head home as another order lifts

More Osoyoos, B.C., wildfire evacuees can head home as another order lifts
An evacuation order that includes an industrial area in the town has been downgraded to an alert as the threat from the Eagle Bluff wildfire recedes, days after it threatened the town before favourable winds pushed it away. 

More Osoyoos, B.C., wildfire evacuees can head home as another order lifts

Extreme weather risk changing Canada's insurance industry, raising costs

Extreme weather risk changing Canada's insurance industry, raising costs
Statistics Canada's latest inflation report showed home insurance costs were up 8.2 per cent nationally in June, compared with one year earlier. Increases were about 10 per cent in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, and nearly 12 per cent in Nova Scotia.

Extreme weather risk changing Canada's insurance industry, raising costs