New wildfires are popping up across B.C. Sunday, as thermometers explode with record-setting heat scores.
Alyson Couch of the B.C. Forest Service said 19 fires started today, as high-to-extreme fire danger warnings now cover about 70 per cent of the province.
That’s up from just 35 per cent on Thursday, before scorching weather swept the province with a ridge of high pressure off the West Coast on Friday.
The region of greatest concern in the Cariboo district, with large fires eating up thousands of hectares of forest about 220 kilometres southwest of Prince George.
As of Sunday 163, 664 hectares of forest have burned across B.C., compared to just 130,000 hectares at this time in 2009.
“That’s a significant difference,” Couch said, adding the Cariboo fires are mostly to blame in the increased fire damage in 2010.
About 40 per cent of fires have been human-caused, Couch said, with lightning strikes sparking the majority of fires.
So far, $107 million has been spent battling blazes, roughly double of what was budgeted for 2010.
Record setting temperatures into the mid-30s are forecast to continue in the South Coast area, and the ridge of high pressure may start to break up by Wednesday. By Friday, temperatures across the province are forecast to fall by as much as 10 degrees, giving fire crews a much needed breather.
On Saturday the province’s hot spot was Squamish, where the thermometer hit 36.7 degrees Celsius, shattering the previous record for Aug. 14 set in 2008, 31.8 degrees Celsius.
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