B.C. competing for wildfire resources with rest of Canada, U.S.

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — B.C.’s seeing one of the worst starts to its wildfire season, but trying to call in more support is proving to be challenging and resources are stretched thin.

“Across Canada, we are seeing several other provinces and territories being affected by significant wildfire activity. So there is competition for resources,” said BC Wildfire Service Fire Information Officer Karley Desrosiers.

Both Ontario and Manitoba have had additional crews deployed to help them fight their fires. Saskatchewan is also seeing a difficult fire fight, with nearly 400 fires started in recent months. The record-breaking wildfires are being blamed on the wind, and hot and dry temperatures.

Despite the dire need for support in so many areas, B.C. has not been left to fight alone.

Desrosiers says a 20-person crew from Quebec is on the way to the Cariboo Region Friday to begin helping crews Saturday.

On Thursday, the Director of Fire Centre Operations for the BC Wildfire Service, Rob Schweitzer, confirmed they’ve already asked for support from retired firefighters to assist the 2,500 personnel already on the ground.

There are also several municipal firefighters who have been sent to several areas, to protect homes and businesses.

B.C. is also looking south of the border for help, but wildfires burning in several areas, including Oregon, have further impacted available firefighters and resources.

“Our partners south of the border in the states, they are also now in a preparedness level five. Which means that the situation there is quite intense as well,” Desrosiers said.

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B.C.’s emergency situation is also categorized as level five, with an estimated 305 fires burning across the province as of Friday morning.

So far, there have been 1,080 fires in 2021, an increase of 800 fires over this time last year. Desrosiers says this year is also higher than the 10 year average in terms of fires and area lost, and it’s only mid-July.

More than 230,000 hectares have been burned, which is a massive jump from the 63,000 BC Wildfire Service typically sees by this time of the summer.

However, there is some hope. The weather has cooled slightly, and for the first time in two weeks, lightning has not been reported.

She says they were seeing at least 25 new fires a day due to those lightning strikes, and with a bit of a break, they now have about 18 new fires. Fewer fires mean fewer areas for crews to respond to.

The winds have also levelled off slightly .Heavy wind caused aggressive growth for many fires, on Wednesday, especially those in the Kamloops/Cariboo area, which led to a surge of evacuation orders.

Even if conditions improve, it’s still not enough to give crews a chance to catch their breath.

“Due to the extended drying, the drought conditions that we are seeing, it would take a considerable amount of precipitation to mitigate or alleviate that wildfire risk, ” she says, although there is a small amount of rain expected in some parts late Friday.

With files from Marcella Bernardo

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