A firefighter directs water on a grass fire burning on an acreage behind a residential property in Kamloops, B.C., on June 5.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
More soldiers are expected to be deployed today to help firefighters battle the nearly 400 active wildfires in British Columbia.
Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma says 75 military members are heading to Burns Lake, in central B.C., to join 75 others who were sent to nearby Vanderhoof yesterday as part of federal assistance in the province’s wildfire fight.
BC Wildfire Service officials say the season has not yet hit its peak and they are warning that the drought that has helped fuel the flames this season could roll into next year, potentially causing the 2024 fire season to start early.
A provincial drought bulletin shows 18 of the province’s 34 water basins are at drought Level 4, meaning harm to ecosystems and communities is likely, while four more are at the highest Level 5.
Ma says about 150 people are currently under evacuation orders due to the wildfires, while about 3,400 people are under evacuation alerts and must be ready to leave at short notice in the northwest, northeast and Cariboo regions of the province.
B.C. Wildfire Service firefighter Kurt Wandler waits for his colleague Charlie Helton during a planned ignition on a wildfire burning near Vanderhoof, B.C.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
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Wildfire crew members hike back towards their staging area after a long day on the fire line at a wildfire burning near Vanderhoof, B.C.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
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Crew members take a short break after a day spent mopping up after a major planned ignition the night before on a wildfire near Vanderhoof, B.C.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
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B.C. Wildfire fighter Cam Taylor watches a planned ignition at night on a wildfire burning near Vanderhoof, B.C.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
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Wildfire crew members use hoses to wet down an area of ‘black’ — burned in a planned ignition the night before — to help prevent the main fire from spreading and reinforce control lines on a wildfire near Vanderhoof, B.C.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
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Charlie Helton, a member of the B.C. Wildfire Service Columbia Unit Crew uses a drip torch on a planned ignition on a wildfire near Vanderhoof, B.C.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
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A member of the B.C. Wildfire Service Columbia Unit Crew, Charlie Helton, gives an update to her crew leader during a planned ignition on a wildfire near Vanderhoof, B.C.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
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Carson Long, a firefighter with the Alaska Smoke Jumpers, uses a drip torch to light ladder fuels around the trunk of a tree during a planned ignition on a wildfire near Vanderhoof, B.C.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
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B.C. Wildfire crew member uses a hose to wet down an area of ‘black’ — burned in a planned ignition the night before — to help prevent the main fire from spreading and reinforce control lines on a wildfire near Vanderhoof,Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
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A tree candles as a B.C. Wildfire crew looks on during a planned ignition operation on a wildfire burning near Vanderhoof, B.C.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
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Wildfire crew members watch as a planned ignition fire gushes embers into the sky.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
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Alaska Smoke Jumper Tyler Moylan’s dinner is nearly snatched by a puppy belonging to a heavy equipment contractor while taking a break in a staging area near a wildfire burning near Vanderhoof, B.C.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
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Jake Murie (right), a member of the Alaska Smoke Jumpers, works with the BC Wildfire Firehawk Unit Crew’s Mack Rowson to map a planned ignition on a wildfire near Vanderhoof, B.C.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
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Alaska Smoke Jumper Jake Murie (right) speaks with his firing team ‘burners’ as they begin a planned ignition on a wildfire near Vanderhoof, B.C.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
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Jake Murie, a firefighter from the Alaska Smoke Jumpers, maps out a planned ignition along an area of a wildfire burning near Highway 27 outside Vanderhoof, B.C..Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
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A member of the B.C. Wildfire Columbia Unit Crew (bottom left) uses a hose to wet down an area of ‘green’ on the outside of the machine-built fire guard while embers rain down from a planned ignition on a wildfire burning near Vanderhoof, B.C.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
