Twelve fires sparked in BC, two of which are described as being of note

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VERNON (NEWS 1130) – Cool, wet weather is helping crews who are fighting a pair of wildfires in British Columbia.

Officials say a fire in the north Okanagan, near Lumby, charred as much as eight hectares of trees and brush yesterday, prompting the Regional District of North Okanagan to issue an evacuation alert for about 30 homes.

Overnight rain and snow helped crews control the flames, and David Sewell with the regional district says the risk has dropped enough that the evacuation alert was lifted this afternoon.

Fire information officer Amanda Reynolds says crews fighting a blaze southeast of Prince George have also received some help from the weather, with rain and snow significantly suppressing the fire last night.

Reynolds says the fire began about five kilometres east of Tete Jaune Cache yesterday afternoon and it’s believed to have scorched and estimated two square kilometres of brush.

Twenty-six firefighters are working to contain the flames and Reynolds says another 28 are expected to join them shortly.

Claire Allen is also with the BC Wildfire Service.

She says while any long stretch of hot and dry weather will mean a higher likelihood of fires, we will have to wait to know more about how this wildfire season will play out.

“Time will tell. We normally have a weather event throughout June that we refer to as the ‘June Rains’ and that brings sometimes significant precipitation. That’s usually a better indicator in the long-term sense of what the wildfire season will look like.”

Allen warns people who are heading out to the backcountry to be careful.

“Currently there are no campfire bans in place, but anyone who is going out into the backcountry does need to be aware that forest fields dry out faster than most individuals think.”

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