With a warm weekend ahead, and more to come this summer, the BC Wildfire Service is once again issuing fire safety messages to outdoor enthusiasts.
For now, campfires are still permitted across B.C., but that will change this summer, as it always does, when temperatures increase.
“We just want to encourage people to be careful,” said wildfire information officer Mikhail Elsay.
“Keep the campfire small and make sure they have the appropriate water tools on hand should anything happen.”
Recent rainfall has lowered the Okanagan’s fire risk slightly. According to the fire danger rating, most of the region is rated as low (2 out of 5), though there are some pockets listed as moderate (3 out of 5).
“For the Okanagan, obviously the hazard is down a little bit because of the rain we’ve had recently,” said Elsay.
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However, Environment Canada is projecting a sunny weekend for the region, with temperatures ranging from 23 to 28 C.
“We do anticipate that hazard to increase over the weekend and into the following week,” Elsay said, “if we continue to see the hot and dry weather.”
In related news, BC Wildfire says it has improved its wildfire app.
The app is one of several ways residents can alert fire officials of potential wildfires.
“You can report a fire, you can attach photos to the report, which is super helpful for operations officers to make informed decisions on the response,” said Elsay.
“And it also provides up-to-date information on all fires currently burning within the province. So we encourage people to download it and use it for the foreseeable future.”
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