A campfire ban could be in effect for the Powell River area as early as Monday, July 16.
“We will be assessing the conditions throughout this week and the weekend,” said BC Wildfire Service Coastal Fire Centre communication assistant Dorthe Jakobsen in a statement. “According to our weather information we may see warm, hot and dry conditions by this weekend and we will be assessing the need for a campfire ban on Monday,” stated Jakobsen.
The current weather forecast for Powell River is sunshine with temperatures between 23 and 28 degrees Celsius through at least Thursday, July 20.
During this fire season, 82 wildfires have started in the coastal region as of July 9. Fire danger is currently between low and moderate levels.
Meanwhile, Powell River’s BC Wildfire Service Initial Attack Unit will not be among firefighting personnel travelling to Ontario and Quebec to help with firefighting efforts in those provinces, according to Jakobsen.
Currently, there are 60 fires burning in the two central Canadian provinces. Firefighters from across Canada and the United States are heading there to help battle the fires.
Initial Attack crews are three-member first responders to fires. The teams are highly versatile and mobile, with the ability to hit wildfires first, hard and fast.
“The BCWS moves crews as and when needed provincially, nationally and internationally,” said Jakobsen, “but we also make sure we have the crews we need to handle incidents in BC.”
