It香蕉视频直播檚 been a long summer for the Kamloops Fire Zone staff.

The B.C. Wildlife Service firefighters and support administrative staff began in June dealing with Okanagan Lake flooding, switched quickly to forest fires and now face drought concerns as the summer winds down.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 been a long, long season and frankly I香蕉视频直播檓 exhausted,香蕉视频直播� said Rob Schweitzer, the Kamloops Fire Centre manager.

香蕉视频直播淎t one point we had some 44,000 people evacuated from their homes across the province. It香蕉视频直播檚 hard not to meet anyone not impacted by these fires everywhere you go.香蕉视频直播�

But he says the million dollar question remains unanswered香蕉视频直播攊s this fire season the new normal or just a freak aberration.

香蕉视频直播淚 hope it香蕉视频直播檚 not the new normal or I may have chosen the wrong job,香蕉视频直播� laughed Schweitzer, who has been in his current position for just over a year.

香蕉视频直播淭o my way of thinking, I think this summer reflects a new change and to rethink the idea to suppress forest fires at all costs may not be the most reasonable, cost-effective approach.香蕉视频直播�

He noted that besides B.C.香蕉视频直播檚 forest fire escalation, a similar story is occurring regarding wildfires in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and California.

Schweitzer made the comments while speaking to the Okanagan Water Stewardship Council on Thursday.

He said the cost to fight B.C香蕉视频直播檚 fires this summer sits at $473 million and is forecast to reach $680 million. As a comparison, he cited that in 2003, the year of the Okanagan Mountain Park, the forest fire suppression bill came in at $375 million.

Schweitzer said this year has produced record fires in size, led by the Elephant Hill blaze at 192,725 hectares covering territory in both the Kamloops and Cariboo fire centre regions, and it香蕉视频直播檚 still only 50 per cent contained.

In the Okanagan, he said the Philpott Fire currently sits at 465 hectares and is 70 per cent contained, while the Finley Creek fire, between Summerland and Peachland, has burned 1,000 hectares and is 15 per cent contained.

He said the number and size of fires this year are simply staggering in comparison to past years, jumping the U.S.-Canada border in some cases and crossing fire zone boundaries which is unusual.

香蕉视频直播淚t just speaks to the size of some of these fires,香蕉视频直播� he noted.

He expects the review of the fire season this fall and winter coupled with a the new NDP government in place could potentially produce some philosophic changes in how the province battles forest fires in the future.

香蕉视频直播淲hat the best solutions are we香蕉视频直播檙e not sure of at this point, but I do feel the wildfire service is in a good position to become an all-hazard response agency and to move into the land management aspect on a greater level with forest fire prevention practices,香蕉视频直播� he said.

But those practices raise other issues such as providing the resources and funding to better manage the fuel buildup on the forest floor, the planting of commercially viable trees that are also more susceptible to fire, and preserving riparian zones for environment habitat protection that can feed forest fires.

香蕉视频直播淭hat was one of the issues with the Elephant Hill fire. It would run out of timber but come across these riparian zones and you could see it taking off again when it got into those tree stands,香蕉视频直播� he said.