(Image credit: CFJC)

By Connor Gunn

NO RAIN IN THE FORECAST

Drought, heat to continue in Kamloops; BC Wildfire Service says fire season is not over yet

Oct 3, 2022 | 4:41 PM

KAMLOOPS — British Columbia’s summer wildfire season was unique, according to the BC Wildfire Service and it may not be over yet.

With unseasonably high temperatures for this time of the year, the seemingly endless summer weather will continue.

“We’re still not seeing the season-ending weather that we see in October with significant rainfall, snowfall, that sort of thing and we are experiencing conditions that are above seasonal temperatures,” says BC Wildfire Service Fire Information Officer Aydan Coray.

“We’re seeing temperatures in the mid-20s in the forecast right now for the next week or so normal highs for this time of year is about 17 degrees so these temperatures are at 7-to-8 degrees above average for this time of year,” adds Bobby Sekhon, Environment Canada Meteorologist.

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Sekhon says in comparison to recent years, Kamloops has seen small amounts of rain this fall.

“The month of September had about 13 millimetres of precipitation compared to the average of 29 millimetres. It’s definitely below average and continues to be dry.”

As wildfires sparked up in Kamloops throughout the summer the BC Wildfire Service says some fires are still active and we’re not out of the clear just yet.

“The wildfire season is not over yet, there are 26 active fires in the Kamloops Fire Centre region alone with seven of those classified as out of control,” Coray added.

If the province does see significant rainfall or snowfall, the fire danger rating will decrease.

Coray added dry fuels like grass in Kamloops. Easily ignite and if the region does not see rain soon, fire activity and drought will persist.

“Right now we are still seeing moderate to high fire danger rating across the fire centre. Usually at this time of the season, we’d see low-to-moderate. Until we see more precipitation and snowfall, we’ll likely see those continued drought-like conditions.”