Fire behaviour conditions 'below normal' through September

While 2020 has come with more than its fair share of challenges, there have been far fewer wildfires across British Columbia than in years past. And despite warm, dry weather expected through September, fire behaviour conditions are forecast to be below normal throughout most of B.C.

In its monthly seasonal outlook released Friday, the BC Wildfire Service says shorter days and longer cooler nights will help reduce any aggressive fire behaviour through September.

There are currently 28 active fires across the province, seven of which are within the Kamloops Fire Centre. To date, there have been 592 fires across B.C. this fire season, a 55 per cent reduction from the average of the past 10 years.

And the amount of area burned this fire season is significantly less than previous years, with just 11,961 hectares burned to date. This is dramatically less than the 10-year average of 356,756 hectares burned to this date.

And while summer conditions showed up a bit late this year, contributing to the reduction in fires, the hot weather is expected to continue through September.

“Weather conditions are showing a warmer and drier pattern for part of September,” the BCWS said in its seasonal outlook.

“This will allow indices to continue to grow, although shorter days and overnight recoveries moving into the fall will assist in reducing the length of burning periods and aggressive wildfire behaviour."

While fire behaviour conditions are forecast to be “below normal” for most of the province, the one exception is in the southeast corner of B.C.

The BCWS is reminding those heading into the backcountry to be cautious, as human-caused wildfires are more common than lightning-caused ones in September.