Last week, the BC government declared a provincial state of emergency due to the ongoing wildfire situation around the province.
Now, Environment Canada issued a special weather statement on Monday that said parts of the province could see high temperatures beginning today.
While this heat wave may not produce the same type of heat dome that BC saw in late June, heat-related illnesses may occur especially for young children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with chronic illnesses.
The temperatures are expected to reach the high 20s near the water and low 30s inland.
Heat warnings may be issued for some regions in the days ahead.
Communities in the Interior region of BC are currently experiencing either wildfires, intense smoke, and wind or weather warnings.
See also: Here’s what you can do to prevent a wildfire and what to do if you spot one
Wind and weather in the Interior has prompted additional evacuation orders, said Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth.
So far, 34.4% of wildfires have been human-caused, over 50% are caused by lightning, and 14.4% have an unknown cause.
The wildfire situation is still evolving but here are current statistics of the situation as of 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 27th.
Current Active Wildfires
There are currently 248 wildfires burning in BC and since April 1st, there have been 1,237 wildfires and 448,968 hectares burned.
Most of these wildfires are occurring in the Interior, North, and Vancouver Coastal areas of BC; Vancouver Island has yet to experience any serious wildfires this year.
Here’s where there wildfires are currently burning:
Cariboo: 37
Coastal: 5
Kamloops: 87
Northwest: 4
Prince George: 48
Southeast: 67
Evacuation Orders
Since wildfires began this summer, and Lytton was destroyed by a wildfire, evacuation orders due to wildfires have been more frequent.
To date, BC has called 63 evacuation orders and 93 evacuation alerts in total; most (35) being in central BC.
Central BC is currently experiencing 52 evacuation orders and 63 alerts.
Southeast BC is experiencing 8 orders and 8 alerts; meanwhile, Northwest is experiencing 5 orders and 5 alerts and the Northeast has one order and 15 alerts.
Crews and Equipment
There are a total of 135 out-of-province firefighters. Firefighters and other personnel currently fighting the fires is at 3,650, which includes out-of-province and aerial support.
There are also 178 support ground crews and helicopters.
Vancouver Island
As of this publication, there are no wildfires burning on Vancouver Island.
Last week, emergency crews contained the perimeter of a one hectare fire near Shirley after it was reported out of control on Thursday, July 22nd.
If you spot a wildfire, report it as soon as possible by calling 1.800.663.5555 or *5555 on your cell phone.
