Province says rain a positive, but not enough to break northern drought

While summer has had a wet start, we are still far from breaking the drought across the province, especially in the north.

That is according to Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, who spoke at a provincial news conference this afternoon (Wednesday).

“This year’s snowpack remains very low, 57% of normal,” Ma said. “As we move into summer, more and more people and businesses that hold water licenses will receive letters about drought conditions and the need to voluntarily conserve water.”

According to Ma, the province hopes to soften the blow from the drought in the peak summer months by conserving water earlier than last year.

They are also calling on people to be ready for possible emergencies by making sure their household insurance is up to date, and preparing an emergency evacuation pack and plan.

Matt MacDonald, the BC Wildfire Service’s (BCWS) lead Fire Weather Forecaster, also spoke at the conference.

“As we head into the later half of June and early July, we are expecting warmth to return,” he explained. “There is a strong likelihood of dryer than normal conditions for much of the province. We have seen some rain and cooler temperatures, but we expect that to shift.”

He said the BCWS is “very confident” that there will not be enough rain to soften the deep drought.

“We will have large, challenging fires in parts of the province, but not as extensive as we saw in 2023,” he said. “We had widespread drought last year, this year the drought is confined to smaller regions.”

Right now, 98/108 fires burning in BC are in the Prince George Fire Centre, and the province’s northeast is where the drought is the worst.

“Remain prepared, be vigilant, and know the province is doing everything we can to prepare for another challenging wildfire season,” MacDonald said.

You can learn more how to prepare for emergencies at the EmergencyInfoBC website.