26 record temperatures and 32 new fires on another hot B.C. day

Another day of warm weather across B.C., another day of record temperatures and new fires.

“Everything is extremely dry,” said Abbotsford Assistant Fire Chief Craig Bird, after his crews put out a massive greenhouse fire in the afternoon.

In total, BC Wildlife Service counted 32 new fires in the province on July 2, making a total of 779 so far this year. There were large fires near urban centres in Sechelt and Nanaimo—but also a three hectare fire north of Midway and a 90 hectare fire south of Keremeos, among others.

The fire danger rating is either high or extreme for the majority of the province, including all of the south coast and Vancouver Island.

And the weather isn’t helping matters. In all, 26 record temperatures were hit in British Columbia for July 2, including a mark of 39.4 degrees celsius in Lillooet and 36.4 degrees in Port Alberni.

Overnight, the Vancouver Park Board prepared for a weather issue of a different sort, as a wind warning was issued for Stanley Park and UBC, with gusts over 80 kilometres an hour expected.

“We want to let people know to be careful and exercise caution and stay away from the tree areas…but also monitor any tree damage that might happen,” said Park Board Vice Chair Sarah Kirby-Yung.

“We always try and warn the public. We haven’t had a significant wind storm for some years..we just try and be proactive when we see something out of the ordinary.”