Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

Rain across B.C. Interior aids wildfire fight in Okanagan, Shuswap and Fraser Canyon

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 31 Aug, 2023 09:41 AM
  • Rain across B.C. Interior aids wildfire fight in Okanagan, Shuswap and Fraser Canyon

Widespread rain in the forecast today throughout much of British Columbia's southern Interior is expected to aid firefighters pushing back against a number of major wildfires in the region.

The Columbia Shuswap Regional District says while cooler weather brought winds that may increase fire behaviour at the Bush Creek East blaze near Chase, the rain is "creating conditions for firefighters to increase their attack" on the fire now measuring 431 square kilometres.

Environment Canada weather radar showed light-to-medium precipitation was falling this morning from Merritt to Salmon Arm, stretching over parts of the Fraser Canyon, Central Okanagan and Shuswap regions.

Forecasts call for showers to continue until at least noon for communities including Kelowna, Lytton and Salmon Arm, all adjacent to major wildfires that have forced evacuation orders.

The cool, wet weather has already tempered blazes such as McDougall Creek in the Central Okanagan, Ross Moore Lake south of Kamloops and the Kookipi Creek fire near Lytton.

Officials in both the Thompson-Nicola and the Fraser Valley regional districts downgraded a number of evacuation orders linked to the Kookipi Creek wildfire to alerts yesterday, with the BC Wildfire Service saying some parts of the fire received up to 16 millimetres of rain.

Evacuation orders were also downgraded to alerts in the Bear Creek Road area of West Kelowna in relations to the McDougall Creek fire, as well as in Turtle Valley in the Thompson-Nicola region close to the Bush Creek East blaze.

In addition, previous alerts for residents to be prepared for evacuation on short notice have been outright cancelled in parts of Westbank First Nation and the Boucherie Industrial Area in the Central Okanagan.

The BC Wildfire Service website shows 422 active fires across the province, with 195 burning out of control and 12 listed as "fires of note" due to their high visibility or potential threat to the public.

This year's record wildfire season has already burned 19,111 square kilometres of land in B.C., with 72 per cent of the more than 2,000 fires recorded so far being triggered by lightning.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex given the go ahead

Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex given the go ahead
Surrey Council has approved a 14.5-million-dollar contract for the finishing touches at the Cloverdale Sport and Ice Complex. Mayor Brenda Locke says the first two of three ice sheets are expected to open in September 2024, with the third finished by the summer of 2027.

Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex given the go ahead

2 shootings in Maple Ridge a day apart

2 shootings in Maple Ridge a day apart
Ridge Meadows RCMP is investigating a report of shots fired at a residence in Maple Ridge that took place early this morning. On Wednesday, at approximately 2:15 a.m., several Ridge Meadows RCMP frontline officers immediately responded to reports of multiple shots fired in the 12000 block of Garden Street in Maple Ridge.

2 shootings in Maple Ridge a day apart

Pledge to plant 2 billion trees lofty but attainable, Natural Resources minister says

Pledge to plant 2 billion trees lofty but attainable, Natural Resources minister says
Wilkinson said in the first two years of the Trudeau government's tree-planting pledge, 110 million trees have been planted, exceeding early targets of 90 million trees during that period.  The minister said in an age of record wildfires and devastating floods, tree planting is an important step in mitigating climate change-related disasters.

Pledge to plant 2 billion trees lofty but attainable, Natural Resources minister says

Fundraiser honours firefighter who died in B.C.

Fundraiser honours firefighter who died in B.C.
A fundraiser has been launched to honour the memory of a firefighter killed while fighting British Columbia's largest wildfire last week. The 25-year-old firefighter who died Friday has been identified as Zak Muise in an online obituary and tribute by the firefighting contractor he worked for.

Fundraiser honours firefighter who died in B.C.

Feds say 6.6 million 'unsafe vehicles' on the road

Feds say 6.6 million 'unsafe vehicles' on the road
Transport Canada estimated in an analysis from June that one in five of the 33.3 million vehicles registered as of 2019 have outstanding recalls but continue to ply the streets and highways, potentially endangering occupants and other road users.

Feds say 6.6 million 'unsafe vehicles' on the road

Properties destroyed as latest B.C. wildfire flares, forcing urgent evacuations

Properties destroyed as latest B.C. wildfire flares, forcing urgent evacuations
An evacuation order covering the more than 200 properties around the lake was issued Tuesday and quickly upgraded to critical, urging the many seasonal and handful of permanent residents to leave for Lillooet or Whistler.

Properties destroyed as latest B.C. wildfire flares, forcing urgent evacuations