There are no longer any “wildfires of note” burning in British Columbia, with the B.C. Wildfire Service saying favourable weather has allowed crews to make good progress in the province’s wildfire battle.
The Corya Creek wildfire, about 170 kilometres northeast of Terrace, B.C., was the last fire to be tagged with the label, which was lifted on Monday.
The “wildfire of note” designation indicates a fire that is highly visible or that poses a threat to people or public safety.
Fire information officer Emilie Peacock cautions the changing status doesn’t mean the wildfire season is over.
There are still a handful of evacuation orders and alerts impacting communities around the province, and more than 700 firefighters and 100 aircraft remain fighting fires.
Southern parts of the province saw heavy rain in the past few days, but parts of the north continue to experience drought conditions, according to Peacock.
The B.C. Wildfire Service shows that the number of active fires in the province has fallen to about 295, continuing a downward trend from Friday when there were about 340 fires burning.
At the same time, strong winds created tree hazards for some crews, with gusts of up to 102 kilometres per hour accompanying the heavy precipitation that fell in the south.
The wind blew trees down along fire lines in the south, forcing a fire camp in Invermere, B.C., to move to another location. No one was injured.
A quick drying trend is expected due to the underlying drought once the storms move out, with Environment Canada forecasting a return of warmer, drier weather for most of B.C. as Labour Day weekend approaches.
B.C. Wildfire says the province is “still in the core of our wildfire season,” but firefighters are making the most of reduced fire behaviour and good weather.
“Several large fires have moved from being held to under control, and many are in the mop-up stage,” it said.
The number of out-of-control wildfires in the province has dropped to about 79. More than 10,000 square kilometres of land has been burned in B.C. in this year’s fire season starting April 1.
Last year’s record wildfire season saw more than 28,000 square kilometres of land burned and forced the evacuations of communities in regions including the Okanagan and Shuswap.