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AUGUST 17, 2017 | Volume 30 No. 98
RECORD-SETTING FIRE SEASON CONFIRMED Estimated number of hectares burned in 2017 now at 894,000, leap-frogging previous record of 855,000 hectares in 1958 SEAN BRADY STAFF REPORTER sbrady@kamloopsthisweek.com
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Wildfires have scorched more B.C. earth — like this hillside burned by the Elephant Hill fire near Cache Creek — in 2017 than in any other year on record, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
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While the 2017 wildfire season is no leader in terms of the number of fires, and it isn’t the most expensive season on record — at least for now — it is now officially the season that has claimed the largest number of hectares burned, an estimated 894,000 hectares. That number has increased dramatically over the past week — mostly attributed to better mapping of existing fires, but also due to aggressive fire growth over the weekend. The previous record, set in 1958, claimed 855,000 hectares of B.C. forests and brush. That record was itself anomalous; since 2006, no fire season has claimed more than 370,000 hectares (set in 2014), with the average being 154,000 hectares per season. In terms of the number of fires, it’s not even close. Based on a 10-year average, this season is well below the 1,800 fires that B.C. typically sees. In 2009, the province was faced with 3,064 fires. Total costs are also not quite record-breaking. So far in 2017, the B.C. Wildfire Service has spent $315 million — shy of 2009’s $382 million spent. But as chief fire information officer Kevin Skrepnek said
Wednesday: “Of course, it is only halfway through August.” The Elephant Hill wildfire now measures 168,000 hectares and, although growth has been limited in the past few days, the fire saw major growth over the weekend, attributable to high winds that blow embers outside the fire perimeter. The fire now has 603 firefighters on the ground, supported by 23 helicopters, the Kamloops air tanker base and 135 pieces of heavy equipment. Structural firefighting personnel are also onhand. Nearing the end of August, the B.C. Wildfire Service is still focused on the weather. Skrepnek said that the province has another challenging weekend ahead, as a cold front is expected and will bring with it gusty winds, more thunderstorms and the potential for dry lightning. That cold front will stick around until Monday, and it is expected to leave drier conditions in its wake. But there is a silver lining, according to Skrepnek. “We don’t anticipate a return of that massive ridge of high pressure like what we were seeing at the end of July and into early August, with higher than normal temperatures,” he said. “We don’t get a sense right now that that’s going to return.”