British Columbia drought raises wildfire risk, officials say

British Columbia faces a higher risk of fast-growing wildfires because of widespread drought, provincial officials said on August 11, as the western Canadian province battled 102 active blazes and warned that Okanagan Lake had fallen to its lowest recorded level.

The Bald Range fire, which began Friday, spread through the weekend and forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes. Officials gave no immediate timeline for those displaced by the fire to return.

Provincial Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said officials were expecting a high potential for lightning-caused wildfire starts. He said new fires during hot and dry weather could establish and spread quickly.

BC Wildfire Service Operations Director Cliff Chapman said crews continued to record “explosive” behaviour from the Bald Range blaze.

Water Minister Randene Neill said several of the province’s most destructive active wildfires, including Bald Range, were burning in areas of severe drought near Okanagan Lake. She attributed the drought to multiple factors, including limited snowpack and reduced spring and summer rainfall.

Neill said Okanagan Lake, a 120-kilometre lake in southern British Columbia, was recording its lowest level since the province began keeping lake-level records. She warned that without a substantial recharge, the province could start the next wildfire season in an even worse position.

Researchers at the World Weather Attribution group have said human-induced climate change doubled the likelihood of the extreme fire conditions behind this year’s Canadian wildfires.