British Columbia on high alert as wildfires spread

(NECN/CBC) – Almost all of British Columbia remained on high alert as wildfires continued to spread on Canada’s Pacific coast on Monday. Since Sunday, almost 3-thousand people have been evacuated. Fire officials said lighting strikes and tinder-dry forests were fueling the wildfires. British Columbia Forest Service spokeswoman Alyson Couch said on Monday that conditions remained hot and dry. She said extra firefighters from across Canada, and some from Australia, were joining those already in the forests. Couch said people have been asked to stay out of the back country to cut the risk of human-caused blazes. Authorities have banned campfires and open burning across British Columbia. The fires caused a drop in tourist numbers two weeks ago but tourism had been returning to normal, said Catherine Frechette, a tourism spokeswoman in the worst hit region. Since April, 2,200 fires have torched 170,171 acres (68,867 hectares) compared to 1,066 that burned 27,170 acres (11,000 hectares) last year. Provincial Premier Gordon Campbell said the wildfire risk is at the highest level in recent memory. The province has endured a heat wave for several weeks. Most fires are being caused by lightning strikes, Couch said. It could be until Wednesday before firefighters can expect any reprieve from the weather with some rain forecast. In the town of Lillooet, 2,500 people were forced from their homes as a fire raged less than a mile (1.6 kilometres) away. Another 120 in nearby Brooksmere were also evacuated. The evacuations came two weeks after 11-thousand were forced to flee their homes near West Kelowna. In 2003, lightning strikes near Kelowna triggered a fire that scorched 96 square miles (248 square kilometres), destroyed more than 200 homes and caused millions of dollars in property damage. Current weather conditions are similar to those during the 2003 disaster.