B.C. officials warn of early, 'challenging' wildfire season

Government and wildfire officials in British Columbia are warning that the province could see an early and active spring wildfire season due to persistent drought conditions that have left soil parched and snowpack levels low. 

Premier David Eby said Monday the summer "might be a very difficult one" after a record-breaking wildfire season in 2023.

Officials say early outlooks indicate a "high probability" of above normal temperatures across B.C. in the coming months, but added that drought and wildfire conditions this year will depend on the actual weather in the spring and summer.

The chance that the province will see enough spring "rainfall to alleviate drought conditions is unlikely but possible," according to the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS).

"We are certainly seeing some of the variables line up that we could have a very challenging fire season," BCWS superintendent of predictive services Neal McLaughlin said during a media availability in Vancouver on Monday.

McLaughlin said crews are already busy monitoring approximately 90 holdover wildfires in the northeast that have smoldered through the winter, adding that once the snow melts and the land dries out, drier air and moderate winds will be enough for them to start burning again.

Eight new human-caused fires have also been sparked since Jan. 1, he said, amid incredibly warm, dry and windy conditions.

B.C.'s average snowpack levels were 66 per cent below average for this time of year on March 1, according to hydrologist Jonathan Boyd with B.C.'s River Forecast Centre, the second lowest for that date in the last 50 years.

That puts most of the province at an overall decreased risk for flooding this year compared to last year, Boyd said, but there is still a risk that too much rain could fall too quickly or warm temperatures could cause rapid snowmelt leading to flooding.

"Before potential drought impacts are felt [on wildfires], we have to get through a snowmelt-related flood season," he said.

The majority of B.C.'s soil is also at high drought code levels, according to BCWS, which McLaughlin said can exacerbate flooding risks and also leave the vegetation primed to burn in a wildfire.

Officials from BCWS and the River Forecast Centre appeared alongside three provincial ministers to urge British Columbians to prepare for the likely possibility of yet another challenging wildfire season.

"We are doing this earlier than we ever have before," said BCWS director of operations Cliff Chapman.

Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bowinn Ma urged British Columbians at risk to make an evacuation plan with their families and to register with the province's new evacuee portal in advance in case they need to flee.