Much of the province is under a prolonged heat wave, which began Thursday (August 21) and is set to last eight to 10 days.

These hot and dry conditions are rapidly drying out forest fuels and increasing fire danger, BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) warned on social media.

Temperatures will be into the upper 30s over the Southern Interior and inland coastal regions, and approaching 30 degrees over central and northern regions.

Overnight, temperatures usually decrease while relative humidity rises. However, the current weather pattern may result in warm and dry overnight conditions, BCWS said.

“When relative humidity is lower than temperatures, it creates what is called crossover conditions which can increase the risk of new starts, fire spread and fire behaviour.”

A risk of dry lightning begins Monday (today) over the North Cascades, increasing Tuesday and Wednesday for the Coast Mountains and Southern Interior.

Holdover fires from lightning strikes smouldering since early August could also start to smoke and ignite. Wildfires that are currently burning may become more active and smoke may become more visible.

Residents and visitors across B.C. can help BC Wildfire Services’ response efforts by:

• Checking and following open fire prohibitions in your area.
• Practising the safe use of open fire.
• FireSmarting your home and property.
• Reporting smoke columns, wildfires and violations of wildfire regulations to 1-800-663-5555, *5555 on a cell phone or on BC Wildfire’s app.
• Learning more about the weather elements that influence fire behaviour.
• Be extremely careful with campfires!

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