49 wildfires are blazing throughout the Prince George Fire Centre, including 5 that are being considered ‘of note’
To be considered as a wildfire of note, a blaze must either pose a potential threat to public safety or be highly visible.
The number of wildfires of note recently dropped in the PG Fire Centre, as the Klawli Lake Wildfire is now being held.
However, the Forres Mountain, Cutoff Creek, Tentfire Creek, Grizzly Lake, and Mount Porter blazes continue to rage on.
According to Sharon Nickel, PGFC Spokesperson, there are 45 firefighters, 2 helicopters, and one piece of heavy equipment working to tackle the Cutoff Creek fire, which is now 23,310 hectares in size.
“For the Forres Mountain fire, it’s still out of control, it’s holding at around 8,700 hectares. That one is a modified response fire so we are monitoring that one at this time and we’re looking for appropriate trigger points that may bring on additional fire suppression activity,” she explained.
Meanwhile, the Grizzly Lake fire which is currently about 4,891 hectares has 50 firefighters, one helicopter, and 7 pieces of heavy equipment working.
The current fire danger rating varies throughout the PGFC, the immediate area surrounding PG is at a moderate to high danger rating, while the Southeast area into the Robson Valley is listed as being at extreme risk.
With temperatures expected to exceed the seasonal average this weekend, a heat warning is in effect for Prince George and Vanderhoof.
However, Nickel says she isn’t too concerned about the heat having an impact on the wildfire activity in the area.
“The precipitation we’ve received over the past like ten days to two weeks, that has assisted with suppression efforts quite a bit. We haven’t seen any increase in the size of the fires of note and we’ve actually seen a decrease in fire activity because of that precipitation,” Nickel said.
She adds it would take several days of hot, dry temperatures to dry everything out.
“We’re not overly concerned about current fires over the weekend, like I said, the weather that we’ve had has been quite favourable and has helped quite a bit on those sites,” Nickel added.
Nickel also says the BC Wildfire Service isn’t too concerned about an increase in wildfire activity stemming from the ban on campfires being lifted as well.
“Less than 30% of those fires in the PGFC are human-caused. In the ‘human caused’ stats that does include campfires and discarded cigarettes but more than those its high-risk activities and industrial activities that start those fires so it’s things like riding ATV’s or dirt bikes that might cause sparks or extreme heat,” she explained.
While campfires are allowed, category 2 and 3 fires such as fireworks and burn barrels remain prohibited in the PGFC.
Nickel reminds residents that just because the campfire ban has been lifted doesn’t mean residents should avoid calling the BC Wildfire Emergency Line if they see smoke or flames in the area.