The number of wildfires in British Columbia has roughly doubled over the past several days, but an information officer with the BC Wildfire Service says the activity can be attributed to the annual “spring dip.”
Amanda Graves says the phenomenon is caused by a decrease in moisture in the needles of coniferous trees.
She says it comes shortly after the snow has melted, but before vegetation “begins to get really green.”
But Graves says it’s too soon to say whether recent fires are an indicator of what’s to come this wildfire season.
The BC Wildfire Service dashboard shows there were 46 active fires as of midday Monday, six of which have been started were started in the previous 24 hours and 80 per cent were human-caused.
Graves noted that B.C. doesn’t typically get much lightning at this time of year, which explains why most fires in the spring are human-caused.
“When we say human-caused, we’re essentially referring to any fire that was not caused naturally by a lightning strike,” she says.
“Typically, when folks see the term human-caused, they naturally think campfires or fires that have been set intentionally, whereas really it can be a whole lot of things.”
The wildfire service posted a seasonal outlook last month, which forecasted a warmer-than-usual spring, coupled with above-average precipitation for coastal and Central B.C., which could help mitigate the persisting drought.
It noted May and June are typically the rainiest months.
“The amount and duration of rain events during this period will influence the length and intensity of the core wildfire season,” the outlook said.
The service says its next seasonal outlook will be released in June.