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By Caden Fanshaw

WILDFIRE

Northern B.C. far from out of the woods on wildfire season despite slow start to summer: Expert

Aug 2, 2022 | 12:55 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – As the summer’s first heat wave wraps up in Prince George and surrounding areas, only five wildfires remained out of control as of Tuesday morning.

Compared to other areas of the province the numbers may seem low, although given a colder and wetter start to summer it is not a surprise for many experts. Many believe the fire season is still far from over, according to wildfire researcher Mike Flannigan, BC is still in prime time for wildfire.

“Many other parts of the country, it’s June or July, for Alberta it’s May, but BC is the latter half of July and the beginning of August and that is exactly where we are right now,” said Flannigan. “Stay tuned.”

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Although many may think this is a late start to the season, the busiest time on average for wildfire in BC is the end of July and the beginning of August and Flannigan said given trends in climate change the season may extend longer than you’d think.

The BC Wildfire Service said the slow start to the season has been a big advantage for proactive fuel management efforts, training, and lending a hand to other provinces in need such as Yukon.

As of Friday, the Prince George Fire Centre had dealt with 75 wildfires this season amassing 2400 hectares. A stark comparison to a year ago which saw 200 wildfires burn over 100,000 hectares.