There have been 820 fires across B.C. since April 1, according to the BC Wildfire service.
Chief fire information officer Kevin Skrepnek reported that 13 new fires started Saturday, with 150 currently burning across the province as of 1 p.m. Sunday. Firefighting costs for the 426,000 hectares that have burned this fire season have hit $172.5 million. There are close to 4,000 personnel working across the province as part of the firefighting effort. Of those, 750 are out of province and 1,500 are contractors. The ground crews are supported by 200 aircraft.
RELATED:
Although it started slow, 2017 is shaping up to be a fire season for the history books, Skrepnek said. While the number of fires is not unusual, he noted, the sheer amount of hectares burned is.
91裸聊视频淭hat is the third most area burned we91裸聊视频檝e ever had in this province91裸聊视频檚 history,91裸聊视频� said Skrepnek. 91裸聊视频淵ou91裸聊视频檇 have to look back till 1961 [when] we had 483,000 hectares burned and then in 1958 we had 855,000 hectares of land burned.91裸聊视频�
Those figures are season totals, he noted 91裸聊视频� leaving plenty of time for 2017 to overtake them.
It91裸聊视频檚 not expected to get any better 91裸聊视频� there is no rain expected in the foreseeable future.
VIDEO:
91裸聊视频淲e are expecting a fairly dramatic increase in temperatures, potentially reaching 40 degrees [Celsius] in parts of the central and southern interior by next week,91裸聊视频� said Skrepnek. 91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 definitely a concern for us.91裸聊视频�
The province will get a reprieve from the lightning that has caused many wildfires this summer.
91裸聊视频淎ny fires are going to be the result of human activity,91裸聊视频� said Skrepnek.
RELATED:
Windy conditions have made for smoky skies across B.C. and embers blowing across the Bonaparte River caused the 70,387 hectare fire to jump the river. The Village of Clinton was put on evacuation order on Saturday. As of Sunday afternoon, the fire is 30 per cent contained.
91裸聊视频淭his is going to continue to be a real beast of a fire,91裸聊视频� said Skrepnek.
RELATED:
There is good news on the wildfire front; the Martin Mountain fire is 90 per cent contained, Skrepnek said. BC Wildfire Service believes that the fire is human-caused but has yet to determine a specific cause.
91裸聊视频淭he fire is still holding at about 150 hectares in size,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭his fire had a lot of potential to take off91裸聊视频� it had a lot of fuel at the head of the fire: an almost uninterrupted sea of timber.91裸聊视频�
Emergency Management BC deputy minister Robert Turner said that there are 6,000 wildfire evacuees as of Sunday but that those numbers don91裸聊视频檛 yet reflect Clinton evacuees.
Like us on and follow us on .
