Historic drought fuels fears of Interior wildfire season expanding into late-year, experts warn

“In recent years we have been seeing fires in October, but this year we may push into November.”

The drought code measures moisture in deeper fuels, including logs and materials beneath the forest floor. Fire officials say the current reading is almost double what would already be considered a bad year.

“We have a drought code right now of 1165, and in a normal bad year, that drought code is at about 600. So we’re still seeing historic drought levels. And, you know, that basically means that like a foot down in the actual ground layer, things are very, very dry.” adds Josh Cowan, KFR life safety educator.

Deeper burning fires take more time and work to extinguish, and even rain in the forecast may not be enough to change the overall picture.

“Any rain will help, but it’s going to take a lot of rain to quell. You know, the fire danger we see in that drought code. So 100 millimetres will help, but even that may not be enough to to really knock this fire season off its course.” Flannigan told the CFJC Today team Tuesday (August 11).

Thunderstorms can deliver short bursts of rain, but also bring lightning and erratic winds. Meanwhile, the smoke already choking interior communities has created an unusual trade off.

“The smoke is sitting in the valley bottoms and that smoke [is] very difficult for us to live with, [and] is also helping suppress the wildfires.” says Cliff Chapman, the director of provincial operations for BCWS.

That smoke limits the sunlight and oxygen reaching active fires. When it lifts fire, behavior can quickly intensify.

“Every time we see the air clear, like we saw in Summerland on Friday night, we see significant and extreme to explosive fire behavior. So as the smoke clears and if the smoke clears, it is also a challenge for us as we see clean oxygen on those fires and the potential for the fires to spread.” adds Chapman.

After weeks of smoke alerts and evacuations. Officials recognize many people may be growing tired, but with conditions capable of changing in hours, Cowan says preparation cannot wait until the fire is out the door.

“People are aware. People are scared. We understand that. But we do have a highly trained department. We have B.C. wildfire here. We have air support. We have a lot of things going for us, but things happen extremely quickly. So let’s just be alert.” says Cowan.

by Jeremy Russo

Historic drought fuels fears of Interior wildfire season expanding into late-year, experts warn

Our Community