As daily temperatures push up to 30 degrees, the Prince George Fire Centre reminds you to be fire smart heading into the weekend.
So far, its been a pretty quiet season with only six blazes in our area, none of which are of note.
Fire Information Assistant, Renny Shelle told Vista Radio while all has been quiet so far, we can’t get too ahead of ourselves.
“While those numbers are encouraging, we would like to make a note that the wildfire activity can change very quickly as weather conditions evolve through the summer.”
Since July 10th, our fire centre has received over 68-hundred lightning strikes.
“Some of these strikes were accompanied by rainfall and can also result in holdover fires that may not become visible for several days as fuels dry out. Crews will continue to monitor for any new fires over the coming days.”
Shelle added while the warmer does pose a threat, it doesn’t guarantee a spike in new blazes.
“Hot weather by itself doesn’t automatically mean more wildfire activity. It’s when hot, dry weather is combined with wind and lightning where the risk of wildfires and more active wildfire behaviour increases.”
“Most human-caused wildfires are preventable and we encourage everyone to be extra-careful when spending time outdoors.”
Among the six wildfires that are active in our area, half are under control while the remaining three are either being held or out of control. Only 478 hectares have burned so far in the Prince George Fire Centre this year.
Province-wide, there are 36 active wildfire, 20 of which have started in the last 24 hours.
In B.C., 611 firefighting personnel have been deployed along with two incident-management teams. In addition, 83 rotary aircraft along with 36 pieces of heavy equipment is on the front lines as well as 77 structure protection specialists.
Since April 1st, 476 wildfires have started in the province, burning 26,539 hectares.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
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