A Sunday-night lightning storm has BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) crews on their feet in the Coastal Fire Centre.
The storm sparked no fewer than 29 small fires as of Tuesday morning, said BC Wildfire Service fire information officer Dorthe Jakobsen, including 13 in the Pemberton Fire Zone alone.
Of those 13 fires, three are now out, three are being held and one is under control, while six are classified as out of control, Jakobsen said on Tuesday morning.
While one of the fires (in the remote backcountry on Rhododendron Mountain) is now four hectares, and another on Ring Mountain is two hectares, the rest are quite small, Jakobsen said.
“There are nine of the Pemberton fires being actively worked, and three of them are low priority at this stage. So you might be seeing some aircraft,” Jakobsen said.
A 0.01-hectare fire was also discovered on Mount Sproatt Monday night at 7:30 p.m., Jakobsen said.
Many of the fires are in difficult terrain, but “that’s what the BC Wildfire Service does,” she added.
“That’s what our crews are trained to do. They’re very good at it, and yes we definitely encounter challenges, lots of access, lot of terrain challenges, but the crews are well prepared for anything they find out there.”
Human safety is the No. 1 factor when it comes to prioritizing which fires to fight, Jakobsen said, followed by the protection of critical infrastructure.
“When we get this kind of lightning storm we have initial attack crews who go out, and if we can get on site quickly, we can quite quickly deal with small lightning fires,” she said.
“So you’ll see these fires being dealt with over the next day or two. Plus we’re seeing in the forecast lots of rain Thursday (and) Friday so hopefully that will be a turning point for all these new lightning fires.”
While Jakobsen couldn’t say how many crews are working the fires at the moment, the Pemberton Fire Zone has four, three-person initial attack crews and two, 20-person crews at its disposal (read more here).
“The last thing we need is more fires out there, and human-caused fires are completely preventable, so we are definitely encouraging the public to stay vigilant and safe in our wonderful woods, and make sure that all campfires are small, half-a-metre by half-a-metre, and that the ashes are cool to the touch when they leave the area,” Jakobsen said.
It’s possible more lightning-caused fires are smouldering in the backcountry, she added, “so we are encouraging the public also to report anything they suspect might be a fire and call us at 1-800-663-5555 or *5555 on the cell.”
Check bcwildfire.ca for updates.
