A month into B.C.’s hottest spring on record, the province is on high alert for damaging rainstorms.
In the last two days, the province has battled severe wildfires across the province. Two of the fires have grown to more than 1,500 hectares in size. At least seven homes were destroyed by the wildfires in Williams Lake, a city nearly 100 kilometers north of Vancouver. In the province’s southern-most province, a nearby community lost up to 60 homes and prompted the evacuation of all 7,000 residents.
Tropical moisture responsible for wetting the province over the past two months is now trying to turn left toward the Pacific Ocean. That will bring periods of heavy rain, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service. A “record-breaking fall” could be in store.
As of Friday, there were 74 active wildfires burning across the province. The largest had burned about 2,000 hectares, the service reported. It was one of at least 10 wildfires that forced the evacuation of a city of about 14,000 residents in the interior of the province.