Advertisement

Heat, dry weather fuelling fires in B.C.

TORONTO – Temperatures continue to soar across British Columbia’s interior making fighting fires a challenge.

There are currently 51 active fires of note that are burning 10 hectares or more.

This season has been highly active across the western provinces. In B.C. there have been 654 fires that have burned more than 80,000 hectares. In Alberta, more than 200,000 hectares have fallen prey to 1,217 fires. And in Saskatchewan, there have been 525 fires responsible for burning more than 420,000 hectares.

Fires spread in Elaho. BC

Though there are no warnings or advisories in place for the province, B.C.’s interior is experiencing sweltering temperatures.

Story continues below advertisement

In Kamloops, the mercury was set to climb to 36 C on Thursday. The normal daytime high for this time of year is 27 C. And the plus-30 degree temperature is expected to continue into the middle of next week. The story is the same for Kelowna, Penticton and southern parts of the province.

Breaking news from Canada and around the world sent to your email, as it happens.

READ MORE: More than 70 record temperatures broken in B.C. over past three days

And though not nearly as high, temperatures in other parts of the province are about 5 C or higher above seasonal values.

The unusually high temperatures are a result of a high ridge of pressure that has kept the heat and sunshine in place for most of the month. Several daily temperature records were broken across much of the province in the last weekend of June.

Sponsored content

AdChoices