With wildfire activity popping up across the province, the BC Wildfire Service is asking people to be responsible.
Provincial Fire Information Officer Ryan Turcotte notes in the last 48 hours, almost three-quarters of the 12 or so fire starts have been person caused.
“Certainly the BC Wildfire Service has started to see an uptick in the daily number of wildfire starts that are popping up across the province,” he noted. “It is not completely unheard of to see earlier starts to a fire season like what we are seeing right now.”
“At this time of the year it is very rare for lightning to cause wildfires. It is safe to assume the vast majority of what we are seeing right now is person caused.”
Turcotte adds the drier, warmer weather means people need to be very careful with any outdoor fires and where they dispose of their cigarette butts.
He says most of the province has seen warmer drier conditions this week, meaning it won’t take much to spark a fire.