BC fire season off to a scorching start
Posted May 7, 2016 3:07 pm.
Last Updated May 7, 2016 5:55 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
FORT ST JOHN – As Alberta deals with disaster, parts of BC are also burning.
Forty-five fires are burning in the Peace Region alone. The most dangerous of those fires is near Fort St John.
Wildfire Information Officer Emily Epp says northeastern BC has been hit hard at the start of the season.
“It’s definitely earlier than usual. Normally at this time of year, we have about 36 fires in the Prince George Fire Centre burning about 3,000 hectares.”
So far this year 96 fires have scorched almost 23,000 hectares. Epp says most of these fires could have been prevented.
“The majority of our fires have been human-caused and mainly due to open burning. We also have handed some arson investigations to the Conservation Officer Service.”
She urges everyone to obey the fire bans in place around BC.
Epps joined our sister station NEWS 1130’s John Ackermann on air with the latest information on the wildfire situation. You can hear the interview below.
