BC Wildfire Service reports that the total land burned by the B.C. Wildfires this season is larger than the entire province of Prince Edward Island.
That area is currently estimated at 591,000 hectares and includes 892 fires that have burned across the province since Saturday, April 1st.
Photo Credit: BC Wildfire Service
For my meteorologist friends out there…. I observed a number of flammagenitus clouds today over the Cariboo @WeslaWong @DuaneWx pic.twitter.com/Nzn4gSJtG3
— John Goedhart (@flywestca) August 6, 2017
As of Sunday, August 6th, there are currently 127 fires burning across the province, with six new fires that started yesterday.
According to Kevin Skrepnek of the BC Wildfire Service, they are expecting that there may be a possibility of a cooling trend starting August 13th to 14th that may give some relief for the situation.
Heavy smoke at Kamloops airport and incredible amount of fires burning in the Cariboo west of Williams Lake and Quesnel pic.twitter.com/GGW3j454cB
— John Goedhart (@flywestca) August 5, 2017
Until then, they are expecting and preparing for continued hot and dry conditions that will be challenging, combined with the continued potential for new fires due to lightning activity in the southern part of the province.
Skrepnek says that there is “Really no relief for the next week at least.”
Skrepnek also said that the province may be bringing in additional out of province resources to further aid in firefighting efforts. He expects a steady stream of out of province personnel coming in over the next couple weeks.
