It’s only the middle of April and the Prince George area has already seen a dozen fires, according to Prince George Fire Centre spokesperson Amanda Reynolds.
“Since April 1, we’ve had 12 fires which have burned 88 hectares in the Prince George fire centre. BC Wildfire Service crews or local fire departments have extinguished 4 of them while the other 8 are currently in the patrol stage,” says Reynolds. “All of those fires are believed to have been caused by people and to have resulted from grass burning or pile burning.”
She says wildfire prevention is everyone’s responsibility.
“We’re just asking anyone, if you are going to do any open burning, to watch for changing weather conditions and to follow all burning regulations to reduce the number of preventable fires. No fire of any size should ever be left unattended.”
While it’s been a busy start to the wildfire season, Reynolds says they’re still not sure how the rest of the season will play out.
“While the developing conditions are cause for concern in some areas, they do not necessarily indicate what the long term outlook for the 2016 season will be.”
The BC Wildfire Service is reporting 63 fires in the province so far this year, with a total of 852 hectares burned.