Temperatures, risks rising

Dry conditions last fall have set the stage for an early start to the wildfire season in northern and Central BC, where Fort St. John was put on evacuation alert earlier this week due to the Stoddart Creek and Red Creek wildfires.

High temperatures are set to head south this weekend, according to the BC Wildfire Service, bringing lightning and increasing the risk of further trouble in the southern Interior.

As of May 16, there were 61 wildfires burning across the province, or nearly a quarter of the 230 wildfires reported this year. Of these, 43 are burning in the Prince George Fire Centre, which includes the Peace.

The fires have put approximately 130 livestock operations under evacuation orders and a further 90 on evacuation alert, according to the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

The activity signals an exceptionally early start to the region’s core fire season, and comes on the heels of a severe, extended drought last fall that saw the region end the year at a Level 5 drought rating.

The return of high temperatures and wildfire signal a tough start to the new growing season, with the province yet to offer a reassessment of moisture levels in the region and across the province.

“The drought portal resumes updates around the end of May/beginning of June as spring freshet eases and the province can accurately assess measurements taken to determine drought levels,” BC Ministry of Forests staff told Country Life in BC.

While the good weather has given grain producers in the Peace a head start on the season, producer and BCGPA vice-president Jennifer Critcher says moisture is needed.

“We are so dry and desperate for rain,” she says.

In the meantime, the growing risk of wildfires has led to a province-wide ban on open burning that will take effect May 18. All fires except Category 1 campfires that are a half-metre wide by a half-metre high or smaller are banned. Category 1 fires must be hedged by a fireguard and those lighting them must have a hand tool or at least eight litres of water available nearby to properly extinguish them.

With files from Kate Ayers

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6 hours ago

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11 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.