[Vision2020] Heat wave has B.C. ‘seeing fires everywhere’

[Ted Moffett]

Polar amplification effect from anthropogenic climate change?  But is B. C.
close enough to the Arctic for this effect to apply?  Look it up on Google,
or your favorite search engine....
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/heat-wave-has-bc-seeing-fires-everywhere/article1239461/

Rod Mickleburgh

Vancouver — From Monday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Monday, Aug. 03,
2009 10:19AM EDT

Hundreds of fires are raging across British Columbia, as the province
suffers through one of the most concerted outbreaks of wildfires in history.


Record high temperatures and tinder-dry conditions in the woods have 85 per
cent of B.C. under high or extreme risk of fire, a situation Premier Gordon
Campbell has called the most critical in recent memory.

“We are seeing fires everywhere,” provincial fire information officer Kim
Steinbart said on Sunday. “They stretch from the north all the way to the
south. The threat covers almost the entire province. That’s very unusual.”

In the past few days, lightning strikes have ignited hundreds of new fires.
“It’s so dry that any ignition source that hits the ground is pretty well
guaranteed to start something,” Ms. Steinbart said. “We had 169 new fires
last night alone.”

More than 800 personnel from Alberta to Ontario have been rushed to B.C. to
help keep the flames at bay, bolstering efforts of the province’s own
956-member fire-fighting contingent.

With high temperatures forecast to continue at least into the middle of next
week, Ms. Steinbart said little relief is in sight. “We are hoping for a
break, but we have to anticipate that we’re going to be busy for a little
while yet.”

While the province has so far been spared major residential damage from the
flames, several communities are threatened by fires burning out of control.

In West Kelowna, which has been at risk from several fires for the past two
weeks, more than 2,500 people were ordered out of their homes and
campgrounds on Saturday evening as the Terrace Mountain blaze suddenly
roared back to life.

Fanned by high winds, it jumped fire guards and raged down a steep slope,
going from 90 per cent contained to just 30 per cent in a few hours.

“We’d worked so hard to get it to 90 per cent and then there was this change
in wind,” said fire information officer Suzanne von der Porten. “Really
gusting winds, really dense fuels and really steep terrain made it so hard
[to control], and then it moved quickly.”

It was the second time in two weeks that many people had been ordered to
leave their residences. Some had been back for only two days after the first
evacuation order was lifted.

“It all just goes to show you who’s in control. It’s Mother Nature, not us,”
said Bruce Smith, information officer for the region’s operations centre.

Mr. Smith said it’s been a tough two weeks for West Kelowna residents. “It’s
been really draining. Either they've been out of their homes, back in their
homes and then out again, or they remain on alert. It’s stressful.”

Some, however, seemed to take the matter in stride. “I’ve got my husband.
I’ve got me. I’ve got my dog,” resident Jean Lisholt told CTV News.

Her companion, a senior citizen, added with a smile: “This is the second
time I’ve had to leave, and I think, well, maybe I’ll just go and tent
somewhere. My only concern is that my kitty is not with me.”

Nervous fire officials also ordered 120 residents of Brookmere, 40
kilometres south of Merritt, from their homes, after flames crept closer to
the small community.

Meanwhile, the 2,500 residents of the Interior town of Lillooet are watching
nervously as the large, stubborn Mount McLean fire blazes out of control a
kilometre away.

“We’re continuing to hit it hard with helicopter water-bucketing,”
information officer Garry Horley said. “So far, we’re keeping it at bay, but
it remains an imminent threat. Because of that, an evacuation alert has been
issued for the town. We’ve told people they best be prepared to move at a
moment’s notice. Some have left already.”

Mr. Horley said conditions are perfect for more burning. “It’s very hot, 36
to 38 degrees, and really low humidity.”

An evacuation alert has also been issued for some residents of the Pemberton
Valley, not far from the Olympic resort site of Whistler, where two
worrisome fires continue to burn unchecked.

Not even Stanley Park, the jewel of normally moist Vancouver, is immune from
the risk. Four fires have been deliberately set in the park over the past
three days. On Sunday, police called on the public to report any suspicious
behaviour, citing the park’s extreme fire hazard because of the continuing
hot, dry weather.

More than 2,000 wildfires have broken out in the province this year, burning
nearly 55,000 hectares of forest. Those figures are higher than those of the
devastating summer of 2003, but this year’s eruption has not done as much
damage. At least, so far.

“It’s certainly been challenging,” Ms. Steinbart said. “The hot spell has
affected every corner of the province. New fires are popping up all the
time. It’s a little worrisome, all right.”

She said the dangerous, quick flare-up of the Terrace Mountain fire in the
Okanagan is a vivid illustration of what firefighters are up against.

“That’s the really scary part. You can never let your guard down. All it
takes is Mother Nature to connect all the elements. The wind picks up, the
temperature is high, there’s low humidity and the woods are tremendously
dry. When that happens with a fire, it’s very, very frightening.”

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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
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