Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

inanna

(3,547 posts)
Sat Jul 8, 2017, 01:32 PM Jul 2017

'An extraordinary day': Homes, towns evacuated after more than 140 wildfires break out in B.C.

Source: CBC

Posted: Jul 08, 2017 9:37 AM PT


A state of emergency remains in effect for the entire province of British Columbia as wildfires burn out of control throughout most of the Cariboo region and the Interior.

The B.C. Wildfire Service said 142 new fires broke out across the province on Friday. Those across the Interior prompted the evacuation of at least one airport, two hospitals, an entire town and hundreds more homes.

Information officer Kevin Skrepnek called it an "extraordinary" day.

"It's not unprecedented to have that number of fires in a day, but certainly the level of consequence, the size of the fires, the aggressiveness of which they're burning — all of that is posing a significant challenge," he said.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-wildfires-1.4196204?cmp=rss

5 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
'An extraordinary day': Homes, towns evacuated after more than 140 wildfires break out in B.C. (Original Post) inanna Jul 2017 OP
Just about a year after the fires in Fort McMurray, Alberta. mahatmakanejeeves Jul 2017 #1
A lot have been human caused OnlinePoker Jul 2017 #2
They said a lot of them were due to dry lightning Rural_Progressive Jul 2017 #4
I'm 20 miles south to the Canadian border in north central WA Rural_Progressive Jul 2017 #3
This is terrible KT2000 Jul 2017 #5

OnlinePoker

(5,702 posts)
2. A lot have been human caused
Sat Jul 8, 2017, 01:48 PM
Jul 2017

As of a couple of days ago, every fire so far this year in the coastal fire district has been human caused. I'm not sure of the percentage for the interior districts, but I would bet it's quite high as well. People just aren't getting the message about controlling open fires.

Rural_Progressive

(1,105 posts)
4. They said a lot of them were due to dry lightning
Sat Jul 8, 2017, 02:51 PM
Jul 2017

We had such a wonderfully wet spring followed by a total shutdown of precipitation in June that the area is primed with thousands of acres (or hectares) of tall, dense, fine fuels.

Even if everyone brings their "A" fire prevention game to the table it's still going to a tough go till fall. I'd even want to think about what could be like if they don't.

Rural_Progressive

(1,105 posts)
3. I'm 20 miles south to the Canadian border in north central WA
Sat Jul 8, 2017, 02:41 PM
Jul 2017

The smoke is so heavy eyes are watering and breathing is getting a little rough. We're going up to 92 degrees today and the humidity is down in the low 20s upper teens. Considering that it's just the beginning of July, doesn't bode well for a quiet, peaceful, uneventful summer for the US or Canada out here in the pacific northwest. Add in the incompetence of the dRump adminstation, who knows if they've done any of what needs to be done on the Federal level to prepare for dealing with wildfires and it could be a real challenge getting through to fall.

KT2000

(20,544 posts)
5. This is terrible
Sat Jul 8, 2017, 02:56 PM
Jul 2017

It looks like many of the fires are so close to communities that may face evacuation. Be safe everyone.

Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»'An extraordinary day': H...