Firefighters in British Columbia are expecting the warmer-than-usual weather of late to ease off on Thursday, fuelling hope for more respite in their battle against more than 400 blazes.
The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) says cooler conditions and rain in the north moved into the central Interior on Wednesday, moving temperatures closer to seasonal norms for the first time in a month.
It says the favourable forecast is giving crews a chance to make even more progress on fighting fires.
In the past week, 260 fires have been extinguished, according to the BCWS. However, there are still 425 fires actively burning in the province, including five that are “of note,” which are classified as “wildfires that are highly visible or pose a potential threat to public safety.”
Crews have been battling a spike in wildfires since the weekend, when dry weather and a heat wave were followed by tens of thousands of lightning strikes that triggered numerous fires.
On Wednesday night, residents of Silverton in B.C.’s West Kootenay were ordered to leave the village of about 200 people in response to the advancing Aylwin Creek fire.
Environment Canada is forecasting highs in the low or mid-20s in parts of the Interior, including Kamloops, Kelowna and Lytton, where temperatures breached 40 C just days ago.
Temperatures in the northern Interior, including Prince George and Williams Lake, are forecast to remain in the mid-teens.
Among the most severe wildfires in the province is the 225-square-kilometre Shetland Creek blaze near Spences Bridge, around 180 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, which has destroyed about 20 structures including at least six homes in the Venables Valley, according to the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.
On southern Vancouver Island, the Old Man Lake wildfire is burning out of control about nine kilometres north of Sooke.
A BCWS update says that fire, at just under one square kilometre in size, has seen some growth but the spread has been “away from any structures or critical infrastructure,” according to Julia Caranci with the Coastal Fire Centre.
“We have not recommended any evacuation alerts or orders associated with this incident currently,” Caranci said in an update posted on YouTube.
According to the Capital Regional District, the wildfire is burning a few kilometres south of the Sooke Lake Reservoir, which is part of the water supply area for about 350,000 people in Greater Victoria.
The district has enacted a number of recreational closures due to the wildfire, including closing Sooke Potholes Regional Park, the Spring Salmon Place Campground and access to Kapoor Regional Park.
