BC Wildfire Service says above average forecast not certain, season relatively normal so far

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Canada’s June wildfire forecast severity rating is well above average according to Natural Resources Canada, however, the B.C. Wildfire Service says it isn’t as bad as it appears.

An annual forecast put out by federal scientists predicts a higher than average wildfire hazard for almost the entire country this summer, with the risk being the highest in early summer in Western Canada.

But, the BC Wildfire Service says the forecast represents general trends and should not be taken as accurate predictors.

“Those long-range forecasts are not the most reliable, and a lot of the wildfire activity is dependent on those short-term weather events, like when we have lightning events or high winds,” Erika Berg says.

“We don’t want to spark fear or too much worry. We’re constantly accessing those conditions,” she says.

Last month, crews fought a blaze near Squamish, which is one of more than 100 fires BC Wildfire Service has responded to this year. Eighty per cent of those fires were caused by people.

Berg says the province has had a relatively normal amount of fires so far, and conditions are promising.

“We’re anticipating, actually, an increase in relative humidity. You’ll see that in grasses starting to green, fruits and flowers starting to bud, and that’s a really great sign,” she says.

While B.C. has a low fire danger rating, it has been an exceptionally dry spring.

“We only picked up 22 millimetres of rain last month, 40 millimetres the month before that,” says NEWS 1130 Meteorologist Michael Kuss.

He adds April usually sees about 90 millimetres of rain.

B.C.’s worst fire season on record was in 2018 when there were more than 2,000 fires and 1.35-million hectares burned.

Last year was also predicted to be another hard-hit year, but wet weather in June lead to a calmer summer.

RELATED: New app tracks wildfires in B.C.

As COVID-19 restrictions start to ease over the summer, BC Wildfire Service is asking people to be especially aware of preventing wildfires and report any fires they see.

-With files from the Canadian Press