BC prepares for increased wildfire risk in northeast region

Looking ahead to what could be a hot, dry summer, provincial officials released an update Thursday on wildfire and drought concerns.

Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma said as many parts of British Columbia experience warmer-than-seasonal weather, along with drought conditions, there is already an increased risk of wildfires, especially in the northeast region.

Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said the province is preemptively establishing a wildfire command center in the Fort Nelson area as a cold front hits the area this weekend.

Community members in northeastern British Columbia are told to be prepared for emergencies and remain alert.

This weekend, warm temperatures are also expected throughout the province.

To help residents during wildfire season, BC has introduced a new online tool that can be used to create personalized emergency preparedness plans.

“We are taking aggressive measures to help you and your family prepare and have the information you need during emergencies,” Ma said.

“Being prepared and feeling prepared starts with having a plan. “We encourage everyone to make an emergency and evacuation plan, and the new tools launched today make planning easier and will help people stay safe.”

That can be found online.

Major updates have also been made to the BC Wildfire Service app, which will provide up-to-date information on ongoing fires, fire bans and bans, and evacuation alerts and orders.

The province has also updated a drought information web portal.

It will be updated every Thursday with updated information.

A pilot project on emergency evacuees needing hotel rooms was also recently launched.

The project, a partnership between the provincial government and the BC Hotel Association, aims to help people who are forced to flee their homes due to an emergency and need a place to stay.

Starting in June, evacuees will be able to access an online booking system when a climate crisis occurs, including wildfires or floods. The pilot project will begin in Kelowna, Kamloops and Prince George and expand from there.

“The innovative system aims to get evacuees to safe shelter with greater speed and coordination, ensuring seamless, real-time collaboration,” the BC Hotel Association said.

The reservation system “ensures efficient coordination in times of crisis” and “live availability information eliminates the need for manual calls to hotels, providing quick updates on accommodation availability.”

The province is urging British Columbians to be smarter with water as the current snowpack is about 66 per cent of normal.

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“In communities across British Columbia, individuals, businesses and governments are already taking steps to follow local restrictions and help save water. Small changes make a big difference when we make them together,” said Nathan Cullen, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Management.

Community members are told to pay attention to local authorities regarding water restrictions and rules. People are also being told to “shoot smart” their properties, which means removing potential wildfire fuels around the house.

Drought conditions in the province are as bad or worse than last year, raising extreme concerns about the upcoming wildfire season.

Dave Campbell, head of the BC River Forecast Centre, said persistent drought conditions in BC date back to 2022, so the province is heading into this summer with “multi-year” rainfall deficits.

Satellite photos show rivers across the province are narrower and shallower than at the same time in 2023, which was one of the driest years on record in British Columbia.

“The concern is whether we have that prolonged hot and dry (period) that we have seen last year and also the year before. “If this continues this summer, then we are really on the path to things we haven’t seen in recent memory.”

The Interior pockets are especially dry. Campbell said he’s most concerned about the drought’s effects on smaller rivers and streams in the central interior.

“Prince George, Quesnel, Williams Lake, Vanderhoof, that’s the hotspot, and then the other (area) that would be concerning would be in the northeast,” he said.

The area around Vanderhoof, BC, west of Prince George, has seen about 220 millimeters of rain over the past year, when it normally receives about 460 millimeters.

— With file from Doyle Potenteau, Canadian Press

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