Wildfires consuming less forest in the Kamloops Fire Centre this year

Aug 21, 2018 | 1:54 PM

KAMLOOPS — Wildfire crews in the Kamloops Fire Centre have been busy battling more blazes this year, though those fires have been significantly smaller than last year.

Since the season began April 1, Fire Information Officer Shelley Zupp says there have been 389 fires to date in the Kamloops Fire Centre — about double the 192 at this time last year.

Interestingly however, the 389 fires this year have burned 38,031 hectares of forest, far less than the 176,460 hectares of forest burned by this point last year.

And though there are currently nine fires of note in the Kamloops Fire Centre, she says none are located close to the City of Kamloops.

Zupp says one of the busier areas for wildfires has been the Monashee Complex.

“There are several fires burning there. The Harris Creek fire at 511 hectares, Mabel Creek at 1,861 hectares and Sugar Mountain at 394 hectares.”

Wildfire personnel have now gotten a handle on the 615 hectare Gottriedsen Mountain fire, which is under control, and the 13,359 hectare Snowy Mountain blaze, located just south of Keremeos, is now considered held.

Zupp notes all the wildfire smoke this past week didn’t hurt firefighting efforts.

“When it’s really smoky and they’re not able to fly, the crews actually make a lot of progress with the cooler temperatures working on the ground.”

Looking ahead this week, she says as the smoke continues to lift today we will experience light and variable winds with temperatures ranging from 26 to 30 degrees.

“Tomorrow will bring southwesterly winds, 15 to 25 kilometres, with temperatures ranging from 28 and 32 degrees. There’s a 20 per cent chance of dry lightning tomorrow in the Lillooet and Kamloops zones,” she says.

On Thursday, Zupp says the forecast is calling for a cold front to move in with the chance of precipitation in the Lillooet, North Thompson and Kamloops zones with temperatures in the mid- to upper-20s.

She says the public can do their part by remaining diligent when out in the backcountry.

“That would be much appreciated so we can concentrate our efforts on lightning-caused fires, not human-caused fires.”