After weeks of significant wildfire activity in BC, the latest reports have confirmed that there are now about 240 active wildfires in the province, down from more than 250 conflagrations in the past few days.
The number of wildfires of note in BC has also decreased to 22 fires. Earlier this week, as many as 27 fires were classified as “of note” due to their size and potential threat to both people and property.
Notably, two fires that were previously labelled as “of note” have been reclassified as “being held” – the 900 sq km Sparks Lake fire and the 635 sq km Tremont Creek fire. The BC Wildfire Service has confirmed that both fires have been suppressed enough to ensure that they would not be likely to spread under current and forecasted weather conditions.
In a statement, Emergency Management BC said that over 3,400 firefighters from BC and another 400 from out-of-province were helping control the blazes. BC also has about 45 evacuation orders and 90 evacuation alerts in place, The Canadian Press said.
It is hoped that incoming cooler weather would help curb further wildfire spread. Environment Canada had forecasted cooler temperatures of below 20 C, with cloudy conditions and/or light rain across most of BC.
