B.C. wildfire numbers falling
B.C. wildfire numbers falling
20 September 2009
published by www.vancouversun.com
Canada —
The numbers of wildfires starting each day in B.C. has stabilized and is dropping as the days grow shorter said B.C. Wildfire spokeswoman Alyson Crouch.
“Compared to last month, it’s really quiet,” said Crouch.
No new fires were reported on Sunday, and only five were reported on Saturday. Mid-season up to 150 new fires were flaring up each day throughout the province. Most were caused by lightning strikes or human activity and exacerbated by dry hot conditions.
Precipitation over the last few days has helped, said Crouch.
“We’re expecting warming and drying conditions next week but we don’t expect the really aggressive fires that we were seeing earlier in the season.”
Although this has been the most active wildfire season since 2003, cost and damage reported so far is less than the records set in that year said Crouch.
“We spent 375 million in 2003, and we’re at 346 million so we’re still below that [2003 number] right now,” Crouch. In 2003 a total of 265,053 hectares were destroyed by wildfires in B.C. “We’re at about 225,671 hectares now,” said Crouch.
