Despite potentially unprecedented drought, deep-layer ‘zombie fires’ are not a concern
Global News
"Zombie fires," also known as holdover or overwintering fires, smoulder deep underground and then re-emerge in the spring.
After a record wildfire season, the BC Wildfire Service is finally able to take a bit of breather thanks to the cooler, wetter fall conditions settling in.
There are still a few new fires being ignited and 157 burning across the province as of Sept. 24. However, all but one are considered being held or under control and there no large or dangerous “fires of note.”
Karley Desrosiers, fire information officer with the BC Wildfire Service, explained that crews are primarily in clean up and monitoring mode as the risk of fire growth is low at this time.
However, while “the fuels in the top seven centimeters are quite saturated across the majority of the province, there is less moisture in the deeper layers,” she said.
This deep layer drought is clearly shown by the current B.C’s Drought Information Portal map as parts of Southern B.C. remain at Drought Level 5.
According to the B.C River Forecast Centre, drought conditions this summer were “significantly” worse than average.
“In mid-to-late August, streamflow conditions in many rivers of the South Interior and South-West B.C. reached 2nd percentiles or below; extremely rare conditions,” the agency said.
“Also, through most of the Okanagan region and Southwest B.C., cumulative rainfall over a six month period (March – August) was similarly below the 2nd percentile; extremely rare and potentially unprecedented.”