Over the weekend, lightning sparked five wildfires in Strathcona Provincial Park and one in Schoen Lake Provincial Park. All six are small and are being monitored by the BC Wildfire Service.
Nick Donnelly, fire information officer with the Coastal Fire Centre, says the five wildfires in Strathcona Provincial Park are all being monitored.
“Those are all high elevation, so they don’t have a lot of fuel to really expand and develop too much,” Donnelly said in a phone interview with CHEK News.
“At this point, there’s just a modified response on them, so they’re being monitored. They’re not being actively engaged right now, and they’re not expected to grow.”
All five fires are at a higher elevation and not near any main trails in the park, so there are no concerns with the public accessing the park at this time.
The situation is similar to the fire in Schoen Lake Provincial Park, it is being monitored and is not expected to grow.
When the BC Wildfire Service is assessing a fire and deciding whether to respond to it, or just monitor, Donnelly says there are a few factors to consider.
The biggest consideration is proximity to people, communities or critical infrastructure. Another is whether the fire is expected to grow, or how difficult it is to access.
“With these ones, it’s in a location with a lack of fuel to develop further,” Donnelly said. “They’re just deemed quite low risk, and expected to burn out on their own. So that’s why they weren’t actively engaged with staff.”
Donnelly says though there is some rain in the near-forecast, it is supposed to get hot again after that so the public is still being asked to use caution and to remember the fire ban remains in place.
Laura Brougham
