BC ranchers brace for wildfires

Prolonged drought conditions and the threat of dry lightning across the province are boosting the chances for a spike in wildfire activity this week.

Cliff Chapman, provincial operations director with the BC Wildfire Service, expects the next few days to be challenging, especially in the Cariboo, Southeast and Kamloops fire centres.

“We’ve never seen fuel dryness the way we’re seeing it right now,” says Chapman. “When you put 85 to 100 km/h winds on top of that, it is an explosive and extremely dangerous situation.”

The warning comes as the BC Wildfire Service battles more than 100 active wildfires, including the massive Pear Lake Wildfire near Clinton, mapped at 115,250 hectares, and the Bradley Creek wildfire near Vernon.

“Fires are starting quickly and unpredictably,” Forests Minister Ravi Parmar says. “This is a real tough situation right now.”

The province estimates 8,000 people and 7,300 properties have been evacuated as a result of wildfires. As of August 3, 257 agricultural premises were under evacuation order and 279 under evacuation alert.

Ranchers say they’re concerned about the after-effects of the wildfires, which have destroyed range and hayfields. Clinton rancher Tyler Dougherty says he has stopped irrigating his fields so he can protect his ranch buildings, as his neighbours and family also rely on the nearby Maiden Creek.

“Feeding is going to be an issue for us if we don’t have summer range,” Dougherty says, noting he only took off one crop of hay this year.

The situation is made worse by a prolonged drought, which has resulted in record-low stream flows in places like the Salmon River Valley.

Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Minister Randene Neill met with farmers in the Salmon River Valley on August 3 to hear what they’re doing to improve flows in the watershed.

The visit followed a temporary protection order on July 28 that prohibited the same users from irrigating forage crops including hay, alfalfa and corn.

Neill urged British Columbians to continue conserving water, saying voluntary efforts are helping.

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