Image Credit: Curtis Goodrum / CFJC Today

By Curtis Goodrum

WILDFIRE SEASON

BC Wildfire Service hopeful cool temperatures will slow down fire activity

Sep 8, 2025 | 4:52 PM

KAMLOOPS – This weekend saw success for the BC Wildfire Service, including holding the Noble Canyon fire and continued strong showings by initial attack crews. The weather this week does call for a chance of thunderstorms, which could make fires difficult to control due to a lack of precipitation.

“This weekend, we had a real mix of activity. We had a couple of larger incidents in the Noble Canyon fire and the Mine Creek fire up on the Coquihalla that continued to present crews with challenges. We saw a decent amount of lightning throughout the centre, taking 655 lightning strikes, which resulted in only five new lightning-caused starts. We had four suspected human-caused starts for a total of nine new fires over the weekend,” said Taylor Stewart Shantz, a fire information officer at the Kamloops Fire Centre.

Lower temperatures and higher humidity should decrease the number of fire starts and put a damper on fire behaviour.

“We are expecting to see if not seasonally average temperatures, then at least cooler temperatures, and a return to some higher relative humidities, which does usually mean lower fire behaviour. What that basically means for our incidents is that we have a better chance of continuing with direct attack initiatives,” said Stewart Shantz.

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Despite signs of cooler temperatures, there is still a drought warning in the Kamloops region.

“The good news is that it is supposed to bring with it some precipitation, so hopefully in those areas where we are seeing lightning, we’re also seeing precipitation and lower fire behaviour. The precipitation is supposed to be sporadic. It’s not a guarantee that the whole region is going to get enough precipitation to really move the dial on how dry the fuels are,” said Stewart Shantz.