Fire season begins early; three new wildfires in Kamloops Fire Centre

B.C. Wildfire Service is off to an early start this year with three new fires starting last night.

The largest of the three is in the Lower Nicola region, west of Merritt, where it's estimated to be around four acres.

A smaller fire is between Logan Lake and Kamloops, west of Highway 5, around 0.1 hectares. Another 1.9 hectare fire is north of Kanaka Bar, along the Trans Canada Highway.

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The cause of two of the wildfires are unknown, while the Kanaka Bar fire is suspected to be human caused.

Crews responded to all three fires yesterday afternoon, March 29. The Lower Nicola fire, which is the largest of the three, is being held as crews return to the scene this morning. Meanwhile, the other three are expected to be mopped up this morning, according to fire information officer Aydan Coray.

As temperatures cooled last night, the weather helped keep the fires under control and prevent the spread, Coray said.

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While temperatures are just beginning to rise to double-digit highs in early spring conditions, the region has had very little rain in March.

Less than five millimetres of rain has fallen in Kamloops, Merritt and Lytton this month, the three communities Environment Canada tracks near the new wildfires.

Coray said one of the biggest factors that will determine the early season wildfire risk will be spring run off. It depends how quickly the snow melts.

"If it warms slowly, then it can sink into the ground," she said.

Wildfire service analysts are still determining the 2022 seasonal outlook for B.C.'s upcoming wildfire season, Coray said, and the wildfire service will begin posting regional danger ratings, April 1.

— This story was updated at 11:17 a.m. Wednesday, March 30, 2022 to include comment from Aydan Coray.

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