Province prepares for a dry spell

An early start to the wildfire season and low snowpack led to fire restrictions in the Cariboo this week, as the province tries to prevent a third straight year of record wildfires.

“Category 3 open fires will be prohibited throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre,” the province announced April 9. The ban takes effect at noon on April 15 and runs through September 27.

Category 3 fires include grass fires greater than a half-acre and the burning of windrows as well as other large blazes. Campfires whose height and width don’t exceed a half-metre are permitted.

The restrictions follow the discovery of several fires in the closing days of March and early April. The largest, at 170 acres, is in the Squamish Valley, while this week has brought blazes in Kleena Kleene, Juniper Beach and Chetwynd. Yesterday, spot fires were reported on Vancouver Island and in the Peace.

The province boosted spending on wildfire management to $101 million last month, and has also been engaged in outreach across the province with a view to making communities FireSmart. But much depends on weather conditions – moisture levels, the amount of dry vegetation and debris, and storm systems that can spark fires.

The province’s latest water supply bulletin reports a snowpack below normal in many basins, especially those serving growers in the Stikine and Northwest as well as most southern parts of the province. An exceptionally dry March may mean low risk of flooding but a greater risk of dry conditions this summer.

“The snowmelt component of seasonal runoff for Vancouver Island, South Coast, and Lower Fraser is below normal and may lead to low flow issues in the summer,” the province reports.

Growers in the Fraser Valley, for example, told Country Life in BC this week that the Fraser River was the lowest they’ve seen in years. The same could said for local canals, suggesting implementation of water restrictions could come into play earlier this year than last.

[CHERYL MONICAL FILE PHOTO]

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6 hours ago

Forty-six regions in BC are eligible to participate in the federal livestock tax deferral program, announced yesterday, more than anywhere else in the country. The program allows producers who downsize their breeding herds by 15% to defer reporting the proceeds until the following year, when they buy replacement stock. But after multiple years of drought, the BC beef herd is cruising 25-year lows and some producers are calling for more support to maintain and rebuild their herds. For more, see: [www.countrylifeinbc.com/bc-leads-livestock-tax-deferrals/]

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4 days ago

After weeks and weeks of no moisture, there's rain in Kelowna today. While much more moisture is needed over the coming weeks and months to reduce drought conditions and the air smells of wet campfire, the slow, steady rain is very welcome for fruit grower#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

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5 days ago

The first Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust Grassland Set-aside Variety Trial Field Day was held at Delta's family-owned Tecarte Farms, August 27. Co-owner Bill Bates and DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz welcomed more than 35 people to view seven acres planted to different grassland blends specifically chosen to rejuvenate the soil and support the farm's blueberries. For the Bates family, it was time to try something different following the decline of the field's blueberry bushes over the past several years. "We tried everything, and nothing worked," says Bates. The blueberries were removed in May and the grassland crops planted about a week later.

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Bessette Creek is the latest watershed hit with a temporary fish protection order this year as the province moves to protect returning Chinook salmon. A total of 131 surface and groundwater users must cease drawing water immediately, with forage producers, greenhouses and nurseries impacted. "Declining flows in Bessette Creek reached record lows in early July 2026 and have remained below the minimum level required to support fish population survival," says the province. Bessette producers have embraced voluntary cutbacks, scheduled irrigation and other measures to reduce water use, and are also waiting on funding to boost water storage infrastructure. They're the second group of producers hit with a provincial order this year. Salmon River irrigators were told to top watering earlier this month following a reprieve to address wildfire risk. Growers in both the Salmon River and Bessette watersheds are urging the province to support new water storage infrastructure in advance of next year.

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There is a problem... having lived in the salmon river ( silver creek ) area, I remember a fish biologist telling family members that salmon only "survive" in high iron content creeks, they do not "thrive".... salmon river ( silver creek ) is a very high iron content, would stain clothes brown when i would use bleach... So don't expect high salmon numbers off of that creek , even in ideal situations...

I just wish they would take an interest in CHASE CREEK....went bone dry...100% of trout abd other species died...smell was terrible from rotting fish. Understand this has happened many times in the past. Chase Irrigation District totally responsible for this disaster. Now fishermen are complaining about major drop in water levels at Pillar Lake.

They could not mismanage things worse than they have. It's impossible for them to. The fact that farmers that we need for our animals are now suffering the consequences our governments have not protected us from, is absolutely fucking wild.