It's a tinderbox out there, so be careful.
Fire officials are nearly begging folks to heed this message, which is going out locally, regionally and province-wide in the days leading up to the BC Day long weekend - one of the busiest holidays for camping and outdoor activity.
And be warned, they've even added an automatic fine to further dissuade firebugs. But there's still evidence showing people just aren't getting the message as 65 per cent of this year's fires are reported to be human caused, up from 40 per cent last year.
Despite this dire statistic, the forest fire situation actually looks better this year than last.
Forest Minister Pat Bell said on Monday (July 26) the province has spent over $27 million fighting forest fires in B.C. so far this summer and 23,000 hectares of land have burned. "At this point last year we'd spent $64.9 million. There were 47,000 hectares burned and almost 1,500 fires. So, statistically we are looking pretty good," he said.
But with dry lightning forecasted for the Interior, those figures may skyrocket over the weekend.
Sea to Sky residents have also been hearing about a Lillooet wildfire, which nine days after it was ignited by lightning, is still scorching the Yalakom Valley over what's now reached 1,000 hectares, and has led to evacuation alerts for 85 people in 30 homes.
With so much evidence that fire is ever-ready to take hold, locals will certainly respect the fire ban,right?
Not so. This week, Fire Rescue firefighter Bob Fulton told The Chief of the numerous calls coming in from concerned residents over neighbours building campfires.
Who in their right minds are building campfires in this weather with so many bans in place? Obviously "it could never happen to me" thinking is clouding people's judgement.
It takes just a glance at this week's Chief news section to show just how susceptible individuals can be to the unforgiving power of fire.
The week began with a good news story about an off duty officer catching a potentially devastating gazebo fire before it got into a neighbouring house. Then there was the bewildering story of a highly trained emergency rescue crew nearly needing rescuing themselves when their helicopter seemed to fan a pre-existing burn into a wildfire while on a routine mission. And the week ended with a tragic story of one man losing all his possession - but not, thank the gods, his life -after a shed and RV on his property caught fire and spread to his home.
So to those who believe it could never happen to you, stop and think.
A fire in one's backyard can appear to be always under vigilance, and thus control, but all it takes is one spark and one gust of wind and it can be another house in flames firefighters rush out to battle.
Others believe a riverside location is a safe place for a fire. Once again, all it takes is a spark and a gust of wind -typically higher winds by cool water -and the dry treetops above could ignite.
So until it starts to rain again, let's enjoy this weather - not ruin it by being careless.
- Sylvie Paillard
