Provincial Wildfire Status Update – August 15, 2022



Last week the province experienced an increase in new wildfire starts following a sustained period of daily lightning activity. Read our wildfire week in review to learn more about how we forecast, prepare and respond to challenging weather patterns like these.

Despite the increase in activity, each of B.C.’s six regional fire centres continue to report a high degree of initial attack success. More than 80% of new wildfires in the past seven days are Out, Under Control or Being Held.

Several higher profile wildfires were classified as Being Held over the weekend, including the Maria Creek wildfire (six kilometres northeast of Pavilion), the Hasler Flats wildfire (30 kilometres southwest of Chetwynd) and the Richter Mountain wildfire (17 kilometres west of Osoyoos).

Weather forecast

Today there remains a slight risk of lightning in the central region of the province stretching eastward to the Alberta border. The Southern Interior will be warm and dry with widespread crossover conditions, meaning fuels will remain highly susceptible to ignition. Warm and dry conditions are forecast to persist throughout the rest of the week, particularly in the southern regions of the province.

The next Provincial Wildfire Status Update will be provided on August 18, 2022.

Understanding wildfire suppression tactics

Wildfires are natural to B.C.’s forests. They are needed to maintain forest health and renewal. But once the BC Wildfire Service determines a fire should be suppressed, what are the tactics?