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Despite rain, B.C. remains in a 㽶Ƶֱtricky㽶Ƶֱ spot as wildfires continue across province

Authorities welcome rain, but fear it won㽶Ƶֱt change dynamics of wildfire season

Recent rain has dampened but not changed the overall dynamic of the wildfire season across British Columbia as foreign firefighters are starting to arrive to assist local crews.

Cliff Chapman, director of provincial operations for British Columbia Wildfire Service, said crews have welcomed recent rain in the southern half of the province, including Vancouver Island. But the province needs what Chapman called 㽶Ƶֱsustained rainfall㽶Ƶֱ through the month of June heading in July and August, not the 㽶Ƶֱdrips and drabs㽶Ƶֱ with some localized downpours of recent days.

㽶ƵֱWe have not seen sustained rainfall in this province really since we wiped snow free,㽶Ƶֱ Chapman said in reminding the public about the drought through the fall of 2022 and record-breaking temperatures through May and June 2023. 㽶ƵֱWe are in a tricky spot.㽶Ƶֱ

B.C. needs seven to 10 days of rainfall, he added.

㽶ƵֱThat㽶Ƶֱs just not in the forecast right now,㽶Ƶֱ he said.

More rain is expected to fall today, but it is going to be scattered and enough to make a difference. Forecasts call for a range of somewhere between 5 and 20 millimetres of rain, he added.

㽶ƵֱThat will help but it won㽶Ƶֱt be enough to make knock down that hazard as we enter into July and August, which typically set up as our warmer, drier, hotter months, where we see ridges of high pressures sit over the province for sometimes weeks.㽶Ƶֱ

Paradoxically, rain also bears risks. 㽶ƵֱUnfortunately, rain is also coming with thunderstorms (with lightning),㽶Ƶֱ he said.

Chapman made these comments during a briefing with top ranking officials 㽶Ƶֱ Emergency Minister Bowinn Ma and Forestry Minister Bruce Ralston, as well as other representatives from other relevant ministries, including transportation.

The update revealed that 86 wildfires are currently burning across British Columbia with 13 discovered in just the past 24 hours.

㽶ƵֱSince April 1, 2023, 433 wildfires have burnt a total of 762, 000 hectares,㽶Ƶֱ Ralston said. 㽶ƵֱThe 20-year-average for this time of the year is 306 wildfires and 18,000 hectares.㽶Ƶֱ

He added that more than 1,300 crews are working across the province, with the most of the firefighting efforts taking place in the northeastern corner of the province. BC Wildfire Service has moved to operating around the year, having hired more than 100 new permanent staff while recruiting another 330 crews, Ralston added.

But he also issued this warning.

㽶ƵֱEven with scaled-up investments and programs, we have had a difficult fire season to date and we may well have a difficult summer,㽶Ƶֱ he said.

Chapman said that British Columbia has enough resources to manage existing and future fires. But B.C. has already proactively submitted requests for support from other jurisdictions for local crews in action since mid-April to rest and recover.

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㽶ƵֱWe may see some staff coming in from the United States,㽶Ƶֱ he said. He added later that B.C. has requested an incident management team consisting of some 20 crews from the United States.

㽶ƵֱThat㽶Ƶֱs what㽶Ƶֱs coming this weekend and we put requests in for the next two weeks,㽶Ƶֱ he said, adding that B.C. can cancel these requests any time. Up to 100 firefighters could also potentially arrive from the United States at a later date, he said.

㽶ƵֱWe㽶Ƶֱve also been in conversations about potentially looking at firefighting resources from other agencies like Mexico, the United States (and) the European Union,㽶Ƶֱ he said.

Ralston stressed that money won㽶Ƶֱt be an issue. Spending for wildfires is statutory, meaning that money will be available when it is needed without having to go through the cabinet process, he said.

As for the actual amount that B.C. could end up spending, Chapman said that is difficult to forecast, adding that one potential reference point are the wildfire seasons of 2017, 2018 and 2021, the three worst seasons on record.

㽶ƵֱIt was roughly $500 million in direct response recovery costs associated with those fire seasons and slightly up from there depending on which of those three years,㽶Ƶֱ he said.

Ma also used the occasion to remind the public to prepare ahead by putting together an emergency plan, sign up for various information sources and follow local instructions, when asked to evacuate. According to Ma, just over 2,750 people in northeastern B.C. have evacuated so far in the face of wildfires.



wolfgang.depner@blackpress.ca

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Wolf Depner

About the Author: Wolf Depner

I joined the national team with Black Press Media in 2023 from the Peninsula News Review, where I had reported on Vancouver Island's Saanich Peninsula since 2019.
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