By Chad Klassen

June rains helping to keep fire season under control

Jun 11, 2018 | 4:43 PM

KAMLOOPS — They are called the “June rains” and they’re making their presence felt this year, helping to suppress much of the fire activity that flared up in May.

The normal rainfall for June is 37 millimetres, according to Environment Canada. So far this year, 12.2 millimetres of rain has fallen, including 8.8 on Sunday, the fifth most rain in Kamloops on a June 10. 

“Some areas of the Kamloops Fire Centre saw 5-20 millimetres of rain, and we did go from a high-moderate fire danger rating to right now a mixture of very low, low and moderate,” said fire information officer Claire Allen. “The areas of concern remain the western Kamloops Fire Centre, as well as the western Cariboo Fire Centre in the Chilcotin region. Those are areas that are typically a bit more fire-prone.   

The moisture in June has the hills green throughout Kamloops. It’s a stark contrast to May, which had temperatures consistently in the 30s, igniting 31 new fires. 

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Many of those fires are under control with all the moisture. There have been only two fire starts in June, as the fire danger rating has gone from high to low. 

“We’ve had some cooler weather and some precipitation within the last week, which means our fire danger rating has dropped to low throughout most of the fire centre,” said fire information officer Nicole Bonnett. “It’s helped with suppression efforts, so we’re seeing pretty minimal fire activity.”

The June rains are an indicator the fire centres use to predict the severity of the season. In 2017, the biggest fire season on record in B.C. with 1.2 million hectares burned, the June rains were little. According to Environment Canada, only 3.4 millimetres of rain fell last June.  

“Last June 2017 was a particularly dry month, very limited precipitation,” said Allen. “Now, we’re about a third of the way throughout the month of June and it is looking like a good indication of some significant precipitation in some much-needed areas.”

So far, the 265 fires that have burned about 36,000 hectares across the province is in line with the 10-year average. With more precipitation forecast this week and later this month, fire officials hope it’s enough to keep things under control.