GFMC: Forest Fires in Canada, 22 August 2000

Crews make progress against Canadian wildfires
Fire crews were making progress on Friday battling scores of wildfires in British Columbia, although one of the larger blazes jumped control lines and continued to expand. Firefighters have had to deal with more than 370 fires in the province this week, most of them in the southeastern region near Montana and Idaho – which are suffering one of the worst wildfire seasons in recent memory. Strong winds helped a fire near Keremeos, British Columbia, expand to 250 hectares and authorities were deciding whether to bring more help for the 80 firefighters battling the blaze. The fire is burning in a rugged but remote area and does not threatening any homes. Officials said most of the fires in the province are small, and crews have been working to contain them quickly before they expand beyond control. Lightning is blamed for starting nearly all of them.
(Information Source. Reuters News Service, 21 August 2000)

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) distributes timely information about forest fires in Canada. The current fire situation for 20 August 2000 can be summarized as follows:

over the last 24 hours: 17 fires for 2,043 ha season summary: 4,806 fires for 530,872 hectares

According to the National Forest Fire Situation Report of 16 August 2000 (updated every Friday), that rain and cooler weather across much of the country reduced the area burned this past week. The number of fires was near normal for this time of year, but the area burned was very small. Risk is low across most of the country due to rain over the past week expected to continue in moist regions for the next few days.

Number and area of forest fires in Canada, as of 16 August 2000

current uncontrolled controlled active modified 3 406 165   2000
(to date) 10-year
average in %
of normal Prescribed
burning Number 4,685 7,095 66% 41 Area (ha) 527,399 2,203,744 24% 7,881

The Fire Monitoring, Mapping, and Modelling (FireM3) is a collaboration of the Canadian Forest Service and the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing. Through the Map Link at the FireM3 web site you can access daily hotspot images. An Internet Map Server, which is like a simple GIS running on the host computer, allows you to zoom in on any fire or other area of interest and view the image and map data at full (1 km) resolution. You can also click on any fire and get information about that fire.

The satellite image, the daily fire overview map and the season-to-date hotspot map for 21 August 2000
display the current significant fire events (in the moment no current updates available)
(Source: FireM3)

The Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index (FWI) System is a part of the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System and consists of six components that account for the effects of fuel moisture and wind on fire behavior. The first three components are fuel moisture codes and are numerical ratings of the moisture content of litter and other fine fuels, the average moisture contentof loosely compacted organic layers of moderate depth, and the average moisture content of deep, compact organic layers. The remaining three components are fire behavior indexes which represent the rate of fire spread, the fuel available for combustion, and the frontal fire intensity; their values rise as the fire danger increases. For futher information please see the Summary Information.

The latest available images are shown below (20 August 2000):

Fine Fuel Moisture Code
Duff Moisture Code
Drought Code
Initial Spread Index
Buildup Index
Fire Weather Index
Fire Danger Rating

The Canadian Forest Fire Behavior Prediction (FBP) System is an other part of the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System and provides quantitative estimates of head fire spread rate, fuel consumption, fire intensity, and fire description. With the aid of an elliptical fire growth model, it gives estimates of fire area, perimeter, perimeter growth rate, and flank and back fire behavior. For futher information please see the Summary Information.

The latest available images are shown below (20 August 2000):

Foliar Moisture Content
Surface Fuel Consumption
Rate of Spread
Total Fuel Consumption
Head Fire Intensity
Fire Type

The Saskatchewan Daily Forest Fire Situation Report (21 August 2000) is listing all forest fires currently burning in Saskatchewan and their current status. This report also gives statistics on the total number of fires to date. The whole report and further information can be accessed at the fire management website of “Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management” (SERM).

fires burning in the province today: 5 extinguished in the past 24 hours: 2 new fires: 1 total number of fires to date this year: 382 total up to this date last year: 615 five year average for this date: 639

British Columbia Forest Service Wildfire Report (19 August 2000):
Provincial wildfire update
Kamloops and Southeast Fire Centres
Heavy winds caused considerable fire growth on a few fires in the Cranbrook area late Friday afternoon. The wind was steady throughout the day at 40 km/hr gusting to 60 km/hr in some areas. Despite the recent activity, officials are confident that adequate firefighting resources are available to address the current situation. There are no homes threatened at this time as most fires are burning in outlying areas.

Provincial Weather Forecast
Over the weekend, cooler temperatures with windy conditions are forecast for most of the province. There is a 20-30 per cent chance of dry lightning in the southeast part of the province tonight with a slight chance of precipitation. There is an expected return to seasonal, warm and dry conditions for southern B.C. early next week.

Current Significant Wildfires:
COOL CREEK FIRE – The fire west of Keremeos is now about 295 hectares. Scattered showers and cooler weather have substantially decreased the intensity of this fire and crews are making good progress reestablishing fireguards in the areas that the fire crossed. An incident management team is on site and about 80 firefighters and heavy equipment continue to work this fire.
THYNNE MOUNTAIN FIRE – This fire north of Princeton remains 100 per cent contained. The fire damaged 380 hectares and 100 firefighters continue suppression efforts.
ST. MARY’S FIRE – This is one of the largest fires reported this morning. It is located at high elevation about 10 km west of Crawford Bay. It is about 400 hectares and the majority of the fire spread along the upper ridges. Rain in the area has considerably cooled this fire. About 30 firefighters and heavy machinery are working to build a guard around the perimeter.
NORGE CREEK FIRE – Wind increased the size of this fire to about 400 hectares. The fire is approximately 30 km south of Cranbrook. It spread mainly along the upper ridges. There are 50 firefighters with heavy equipment and air support on site.
CONNELL RIDGE FIRE – Winds caused this fire to grow from 150 to 200 hectares. It is burning approximately 20 km southeast of Cranbrook. There are about 50 firefighters along with helicopters and heavy machinery working to contain it.
IRISHMAN CREEK FIRE – This fire is approximately 150 hectares, located between Cranbrook and the Kootenay Lakes. It is now 40 per cent guarded and over 40 firefighters with heavy equipment and air support are working this fire. More firefighters are scheduled for dispatch tomorrow.
INGRAM CREEK FIRE – This fire is located 18 km from Greenwood community, is now 70 hectares and 65 firefighters, heavy equipment and air support are on site today. Officials are optimistic the fire will be under control later today or tomorrow.
COPPER LAKE FIRE – Wind blew this fire from 15 hectares to 20. It is burning about 25 km southwest of Cranbrook. Fire crews and heavy machinery are on site.
MATTHEWS CREEK FIRE – This fire is currently 8 hectares, burning 15 km west of Kimberley Lake. It is fully contained and crews and equipment will continue suppression efforts today.
LINKLATER FIRE – This fire is over 200 hectares, the majority of the fire is burning on the US side of the border, with approximately 20 hectares burning on the Canadian side. The B.C. side of the fire is fully guarded.

Wildfire Statistics Report, 21 August 2000

Number of Fires Burning: 362 Number of New Fires (Lightning): 6 Number of New Fires (Human Caused): 1 Total Lightning Fires: 922 Total Human Caused Fires: 508 Total Fires to Date: 1,430 Total Area Burned (ha): 15,651

Fire Danger Rating for British Columbia, 21 August 2000.
(Source: British Columbia Forest Service)

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