strong downpours have certainly helped with wildfire control, although it has made driving a bit harder than expected

By Tommy Osborne

Wildfire control

Heavy downpours bring help in controlling wildfires

Jul 25, 2024 | 5:10 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Following weeks of a heat wave and dry conditions, Prince George and area has seen significant downpours, which has been a big help in preventing and controlling wildfires.

“It has been quite helpful to receive rain, particularly in the south of the fire centre. There are a number of fires out in the Robson Valley that started due to lightning events, and rain has been helpful for combating those as well,” said Prince George Fire Centre Fire Information Officer Adam Nicholas.

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s seven day forecast predicts rain for five of the next seven days, which Meteorologist Chris Doyle says is what’s usually expected for July, as July is typically the rainiest month of the year in Prince George.

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“(Prince George’s) thunderstorm activity of yesterday really put a dent in the sort of ‘drought like’ conditions. And the next few days will help to normalize, precipitation,” Doyle said.

Doyle couldn’t predict exactly how much precipitation we could expect over the coming days, as he explained thunderstorms are quite volatile and move quickly. However, regardless of how much or how little rain we see, it should be a big help for fire crews trying to contain wildfires.

“This return to sort of a more average condition can only help humidify the landscape and reduce the fire risk,” Doyle said.

“Not only will the rain soak in to the organic material in the ground and help suppress fires that are already happening, but ideally they will trickle back into water reservoirs, so creeks, streams, rivers, to alleviate the drought that’s been happening in the Prince George fire centre this fire season,” Nicholas added.

The benefits of the rain has been seen immediately, as Nicholas noted there have been a relatively low amount of fire starts given the conditions.

“Despite having 45,000 lightning strikes between July 22 and 23, we’ve only recorded 27 new starts in that period,” Nicholas said.

Both Nicholas and Doyle noted Prince George has a long ways to go to completely overcome drought conditions that have built up over three years of dry conditions, but continuous and strong rain is certainly a welcome sight to help fight wildfires.

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