Alberta wildfire season off to a slow but steady start

With the weather warming up it’s time to start thinking about the possibility of wildfires.

So far this year, there have been almost 150 fires in B.C., with four currently burning.

July and August are anticipated to be very hot and very dry, but fortunately, so far wildfires are mostly being kept at bay so far in Alberta.

And this spring it looks like we could be headed for a less smoky season.

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In Alberta, there are no fires of note so far, and only a handful of fire restrictions in some parts of the province such as fires being prohibited in Ecological Reserves and Wildnerness areas, according to Alberta Parks.

Alberta Parks mentions that fire bans are made effective for extreme fire hazards which would prohibit open fires, including campfires and charcoal briquettes.

B.C. is also expected to have a slow start to the fire season, with concern in some parts, like the Okanagan, after a dry spring.

“Now we’ve yet to see this spring is what we call this cold lows. So these cold low systems typically become detached from the jet stream, they become stationary for days sometimes weeks at a time. And they help feed moisture into those dryer belts, we’ve yet to see these [and] we’re keeping a close eye out for them,” said Matt MacDonald, BC Wildfire Weather Forecaster.

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“This will really determine whether or not we can play catch up,” said MacDonald.

According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, lightning also has the ability to spark wildfires and vice versa. This is due to the onset of air pollution as dirtier air which means more lightning and rain coincide with wildfires, says their website.

MacDonald adds there have been fewer lightning strikes.

“Just under 3000 lightning strikes — if we compare that to past Mays we typically see upwards of 16,000 lightning strikes so it’s been pretty quiet in terms of lightning,” said MacDonald.

So while it could be a slow start to the fire season it could spark up fast.

–With files from Lisa Grant