Area of focus for fire fight

Photo: BC Wildfire Service

BC Wildfire Service is focusing its attention on fires burning in the Southeast Fire Centre.

Fire behaviour has started to see a downward trend across British Columbia, except one area, according to fire information officer Ryan Turcot.

“In general, we are starting to see a slow, but a downward trend in the fire behaviour for a lot of the fires we are responding to,” said Turcot.

“There is one exception to this right now, and it is the fires burning in the Southeast Fire Centre. That is an area that hasn’t seen any real substantial precipitation yet.”

After Thursday, there is a chance of showers but the exact amount of precipitation in the Southeast may vary day to day.

“Into this weekend, we are expecting to see precipitation hit the Southeast Fire Centre, which is really an area that needs it right now,” he said.

Currently, there are just over 3,000 personnel engaged in fighting fires across the province, which is quite a large number for this time of year.

“One thing we do plan for every fall is that we tend to lose about 30 to 40 per cent of our fire crews,” he said. “We have extended a lot of contracts.”

The largest wildfire burning in the Southeast Fire Centre region is the White River wildfire, at 18,000 hectares.