Incoming lightning and high winds a concern for PG Fire Centre

British Columbia saw 137 new fires start between Friday (July 19) and Sunday (July 21), 46 of which were in the Prince George Fire Centre.

These new starts have prompted numerous new evacuation alerts and orders in the region, including Fort St. James, Dunster, Laidman Lake and Beaver River, as well as Williams Lake, Wells, Barkerville, and Bowron in the Cariboo Fire Centre.

In total, there are 16 evacuation orders and 21 alerts across the province right now.

“Some of it is an abundance of caution, but we are seeing some aggressive fire growth based on weather and what available type of fuel supplies there are,” Sharon Nickel, a Fire Information Officer, told My PG Now. “The combination of a lot of stuff on the landscape and warm dry weather, you get some lightning strikes through an area – it is not only susceptible to new starts but also quite a quick spread.”

This may just be the start, lightning and strong winds are still in the forecast this week – although temperatures will start to dip into the low 20s starting tomorrow (Tuesday).

“When we have thunderstorms with a significant amount of precipitation that comes with them, that is less of a concern,” Nickel said. “When we see dry lightning come through with gusty winds, especially following periods of time when we have been in this hot, dry pattern, that is more of a concern.”

The cooler temperatures and rain coming this week are welcome to Nickel and the fire centre, however, it will be accompanied by more wind.

“Wind fuels fire growth, that remains a concern for us. If we get a nice accumulation of precipitation… that will assist with keeping fire activity down,” she said.

Those winds will be blowing toward Alberta and help clear the smoke settling over most of the fire centre.

“While it is nice for us to get rid of the smoke, it does insulate things and keep more moisture in the air,” Nickel explained. “We don’t love the smoky conditions but it does help keep fire behavior down.”

In total, 740,724 hectares (7,407.24 square kilometers) have burned across BC so far this year – 698,580 of those have been in the Prince George Fire Centre.

There are currently 153 fires in the Prince George Fire Centre and 349 across the province in total.

As always, Nickel reminded the public that 40% of fires discovered by the fire centre are reported by the public, and you can report a wildfire by calling *5555 on a cell phone, or by going to the BC Wildfire Service app or website.

“If you see something, just report it. If we have too many reports that is a good thing rather than something go unreported because someone thinks it has already been done.”