[published_date]
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has issued heat warnings for large portions of southwest B.C. as wildfire fighters expect challenging conditions to begin Sunday.
As of Saturday afternoon, the heat warnings covered the inland and eastern sections of Vancouver Island, as well as the Howe Sound, Whistler and Pemberton areas in the Sea-to-Sky region and the Fraser Canyon, the South Okanagan, South Thompson and North Thompson areas in the southern Interior.
Forecasters said they expect temperatures to stay elevated beyond 35 C in the Fraser Canyon, South Okanagan and South Thompson on Sunday and Monday, and the sections on the South Coast and North Thompson to see temperatures exceeding 30 C.
The most up-to-date information on the heat warnings is available on the ECCC website.
The warm and drying trend could intensify wildfire activity, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service, with the Wesley Ridge wildfire on Vancouver Island in an area covered by a heat warning.
On Saturday, officials said that fire activity overnight on the out-of-control blaze was minimal, but there could be increased smoke in the region as weather conditions shift and become hotter.
“As temperatures continue to rise through the weekend, we can expect to see more smoke in the area as the fire finds unburned fuels to consume,” said fire information officer Madison Dahl in a Saturday morning news conference.
Environment Canada is advising anyone under a heat warning to take precautions, and check in on vulnerable neighbours who may need assistance.
Dahl says the Wesley Ridge fire is currently burning over an area of 580 hectares on the north shore of Cameron Lake, approximately 50 kilometres northwest of Nanaimo.
Hundreds of people have been out of their homes for over a week due to the blaze, which is suspected to have been caused by human activity.
While it isn’t affecting Highway 4, the main east-west route on Vancouver Island, drivers have been asked to not stop along the route to take pictures of the fire.
Dahl said firefighters largely observed that most of the fire was smouldering with no open flame, within the perimeter established by crews.
“Crews and structure protection staff continue to patrol and fully extinguish remaining areas of heat and smoke near properties and infrastructure in the Little Qualicum River Village and Park area,” the officer said.
Most evacuation orders could be lifted
Just under 300 properties are on evacuation order due to the blaze on Vancouver Island, which means residents have been told to leave immediately. The evacuation order also covers Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park.
A further 353 addresses are on evacuation alert, which means residents are expected to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
Some of the residents under evacuation orders could be returning home on Monday, according to the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN), who said the evacuation order could be downgraded for properties south of Warn Way.
“It’s approximately 39 or so properties [that] would remain on order,” said Lisa Grant, the RDN’s emergency operations director, in the news conference. “The remainder we are hoping to open up for a return.”
Grant said, however, that conditions could change quickly, and residents would be notified if the evacuation orders are downgraded on Monday.
