Widespread rain has lowered fire risk, campfire ban lifted
The recent rainfall has put a welcome damper on many of the fires burning throughout the province.
As of this writing, the BC Wildfire Service lists 17 fires currently burning in the Coastal Fire District that includes the Sea to Sky region, with only a single fire rated as 'out of control'. That fire is burning along the Upper Dean River in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park.
Across the province, 273 fires continue to burn, with the majority located in the Northwest and Prince George districts. Of those fires, 38 are considered 'out of control', with the remaining 234 either classed as 'under control' or 'being held'.
There are no longer any 'wildfires of note', BC Wildfire's highest designation, burning in the province.
This is a marked change from this time last year, when the fire risk was so severe that Lions Bay Village Council voted to close public parking next to the trailheads in the Village.
And as of noon today, while Category 2 and 3 open fire restrictions remain in effect (including the use of fireworks, burn barrels and sky lanterns), the province has lifted the campfire ban for the Coastal Fire Centre. According to the most recent press release, the restrictions will remain in place until October 31, 2024, or until the order is rescinded.
Meanwhile, across the province, three evacuation alerts and two pending orders are still open, and more than 600 firefighters remain actively on the job.
BC Wildfire's August 28 situation report indicates that while conditions remain favourable along the coast and in the south of the province, in the north, lack of precipitation "has not relieved the deep persistent drought and there is a risk of lighting into the central north along the Yukon border."
Locally, Fire Chief Barret Germscheid says that the Village's current forest fire hazard index rating has been set to 'low' based on recommendations from Natural Resources Canada's Canadian Wildland Fire Information System, which, he says, provides the most accurate fire rating for the Village of Lions Bay.
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