File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

BC Wildfire

B.C. Wildfire Service implements early fire bans, special training measures in response to COVID-19

Apr 7, 2020 | 11:18 AM

KAMLOOPS — While much of the world has been placed on pause due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the natural cycle of seasons continues unaffected.

That means the threat of wildfires is primed to rear its head in the B.C. Interior, and the B.C. Wildfire Service is trying to determine how COVID-19-related restrictions will impact their response capabilities.

Fire Information Officer Jody Lucius says the service has taken measures to implement physical distancing among its staff when possible.

“We are changing things like our training. Where possible, we’re going to virtual training,” Lucius told CFJC Today. “We’ve also reduced the class sizes for training that is required to be done face-to-face.”

“We’re looking at things like our fire camps. Our firefighters travel typically together in trucks and so we’re looking at the rules for those, and working very closely with the provincial health office to ensure that we’re minimizing the risk of COVID exposure for our staff.”
_{– Jody Lucius, Fire Information Officer}

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The pandemic has also affected the timing of implementation for seasonal fire bans.

Effective Thursday, April 16, Category 2 and Category 3 open burning will be prohibited throughout the province. These fires are typically used to deal with slash piles and yard waste. Campfires are not prohibited yet.

“We did feel it was important to put these in place and reduce the need for our crews to respond to unnecessary wildfires or unnecessary calls from folks who believe that an open fire may be a wildfire, in order to ensure that we can strategically deploy them throughout the season to naturally-caused wildfires,” said Lucius.

“We’re also looking to reduce smoke in the air because of public safety and public health reasons with a respiratory illness in our world right now.”

Firefighters in the Kamloops area responded to at least two minor grass fires Monday (Apr. 6) — one near Heffley Creek and another near Knutsford.

Lucius says as snow melts in the valley bottom, fuels are quick to become dry and susceptible to fire.

“Up where we still have snow in higher elevations, we don’t tend to see [dry conditions] as much, but certainly not unusual to see those at this time of year in the south. And then we tend to see a little less fire activity as we see a little bit of green-up and then, of course, it increases again as we head into the peak of the summer.”

For more information on measures announced by the province today, visit the B.C. Wildfire Service website.