Wildfire season not as bad as last year, so far: Wildfire spokesperson

KAMLOOPS (NEWS 1130) – A rainy June has meant this wildfire season hasn’t been anywhere near as bad as last year.

Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek says the extra moisture has helped in the annual wildfire battle, but that doesn’t mean we’re totally out of the woods yet.

“You know, we could still have a busy summer ahead of us. But certainly now, if we’re comparing it back to last year, definitely in a better position.”

He says the weather in June can make all the difference when it comes to the wildfire season.

“In 2017, we had a fairly wet spring in terms of April and May…but then June came around and those taps really ran dry,” he explains.

“We had a really hot and dry June and that carried into the rest of the summer, but it really set the stage for those days that kicked of last year, that July 6th to 8th period when we had a tremendous amount of lightning across the province, just given how hot and dry it had been. The fires that resulted from that lightning, those were the fires that, for the most part, we were fighting for the rest of the season.”

He says there were a lot of lessons learned from last year’s battle as there was a review done that came out mid-May.

“A lot of recommendations–over 100 recommendations are in there, some of which are already being worked on,” he says.

“In terms of on-the-ground- differences, we have expanded staff in certain areas of the program, we also have brought on additional capacity in terms of firefighting crews.”

To date, there’s been 177 fire across BC, since April 1st. Sixty-four of those fires are currently burning.

“As a result of those fires, 47,000 hectares [have been burned], which is a little higher than our average for this time of year. Our average would be about 33,000, but a lot of those fires have been in fairly remote areas.”

Skrepnek adds just because we’re in better shape now compared to last year, he doesn’t want people getting complacent. He says people should be responsible and practice fire safety, like watching campfires or firearm use when it’s hot and dry out.

-With files from Hana Mae Nassar

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