The unseasonably hot, dry weather is proving to be a challenge for emergency crews responding to wildfires in B.C., according to the province.
In Northern B.C.’s Peace Region, a number of large fires continue to grow, prompting evacuation orders.
One of those blazes is the Stoddart Creek wildfire near Fort St. John, that on Sunday grew from 1,200 hectares to 3,000 in about 18 hours.
Barry Wilkinson, a resident of Fort St. John said he watched community members haul horses and other animals out of the area during the evacuation.
“Pretty scary fire for sure,” he said. “We’re a small community that cares for each other, so there’s noone that’s not affected by it. We’re all trying to help out.”
Evacuation alerts were also issued following the Boundary lake and Red Creek fires in the region. BC Wildfire Service told CTV News new fires are igniting daily due to the hot and dry conditions.
“The type of fire behavior and the drought conditions that we’re seeing up in the Peace Region right now are record-breaking at this point. This is sort of unseen at this time of the year,” said Hannah Swift, a fire information officer with BC Wildfire Service.
According to the province, there are more than a dozen out of control fires, including a new blaze in Squamish that began Saturday. The province said while the number of fires is on par with other years, there is something unusual about this season.
“We're about four times above the normal area burned that we see usually at this time of year,” said Erika berg, a public information officer with BC Wildfire Service.
Berg said the cause is from three large fires in the Prince George fire zone. She added that while resources aren’t strained right now, the majority of fires emergency crews are responding to are caused by people.
“They need for people to be very cautious when they are recreating because of these really hot and dry conditions,” she said. “Be aware of the conditions going into it.”
