B.C. wildfires tempered by wet weather but dry conditions on the way, wildfire service says

The B.C. Wildfire Service says it has made great progress tackling fires in the province this summer, with fire crews helped in part by cooler, wetter weather.

But conditions are expected to start drying up, and wildfire activity will be more apparent in the southern parts of B.C.

"We saw some new starts in the coastal fire centre over the weekend as well as other southern parts of the province, and that trend is likely to continue over the coming weeks," said Jean Strong, information officer with the B.C. Wildfire Service.

Strong said up until now, most fires were in the northeastern corners of the province.

"We tend to see the activity in the northern half of the province before those fuels green up; they're still dry and they're more likely to ignite," she said.

"And as the warmer, drier conditions come in the south of the province, those fuels become more receptive to ignition, and we'll start to see the fire activity trend toward the southern half of the province."

As of Monday afternoon, 71 wildfires were burning in B.C.

While the wildfire service's efforts have been buoyed by good weather and slower fire starts, the amount of land burned in the last two years has been well above the 20-year average.

One of the province's worst years for wildfires was in 2023 — with almost 2.9 million hectares burned.

This year, at least 718,988 hectares have been burned so far.

Strong said that is a lot of scorched land, most of it in the northeast.

"When you look at the southern half of the province, the hectares burned are far below average. And when you compare it to one of the more significant seasons in recent memory, 2023 — by this point in 2023, we had 2.2 million hectares burned so far, so, good perspective there."

Strong said this is the time for the public to make sure they're prepared.

"It's really important that people be aware that even though we've been fairly lucky so far this year. We haven't had those smoky days in lots of the province, haven't had a lot of those impactful wildfires in lots of the province — it's something that's still on their radar, it's something that's still possible," said Strong.

Most of the fires this year have been human-caused. Strong said some areas in the province started their campfire bans on Friday, and if dry periods go on for longer, she expects more prohibitions will start across the province.

She said there are plenty of resources online to help families get ready.

"... Taking a look at the Firesmart resources to really make your home and your family safer, looking at those preparedness resources to make sure you have everything you need in place before a potential emergency — this is really the time to be doing that, when we're lucky enough to have the cooler weather that's giving us the reduced fire activity so far."