Fires 2025

IronNoggin

Well-Known Member

Out-of-control wildfire burning south of Sproat Lake​

The BC Wildfire Service is battling an out-of-control wildfire on Vancouver Island.

The Nahmint Mountain fire, which is burning just south of Sproat Lake, was first spotted on Sunday and has since grown to 23.5 hectares in size.

The wildfire service has deployed two initial attack crews and a unit crew, who are being supported by two helicopters.

Human activity is believed to have started the fire.

The blaze comes as the risk of wildfires grows across the province amid hot, dry weather.

As of Monday, virtually all of British Columbia had a fire danger rating of “moderate” or above, with pockets of “extreme” danger in central and northeast B.C.

The province’s northeast has been hardest hit so far this year, with dozens of active wildfires currently burning and evacuation orders in effect due to the Pocket Knife Creek and Kiskatinaw River wildfires.

 

'Tremendously unfortunate'; Mounties accidentally ignited blaze burning out of control north of Lytton​

Police are responsible for accidentally igniting a wildfire threatening homes near Lytton — a fast-moving blaze that ballooned in size on Wednesday to more than 130 hectares.

A wheel fell off a trailer hauling an RCMP boat on Tuesday afternoon on Highway 12 about 20 kilometres north of Lytton, sending a shower of sparks into the ditch and igniting what has become known as the Izman Creek wildfire.

“It shot a big rain of sparks and immediately the fire started — right away, just like that,” Samuel, who asked that his last name not be published, told Castanet. He was driving behind the trailer, with one vehicle separating them.

“It’s hard to describe, but it was almost like there was gasoline on the ground or something. The grass is so dry that all those sparks just immediately were flames.”

Hot weather and windy conditions on Wednesday fuelled significant growth on the Izman Creek blaze, which has forced a handful of evacuations between Lytton and Lillooet.

Fire spread too fast

Police confirmed Samuel’s story. RCMP Staff Sgt. Kris Clark told Castanet the equipment failure happened at about 2:20 p.m. — the trailer lost its rear right wheel and started a fire in the ditch.

“The officer stopped to engage the flames with their issued fire extinguisher, but the conditions were not favourable and they were unable to contain the fire,” he said.

Samuel said the fire was immediately too intense to be fought with a lone extinguisher.

“It was already so big and spread out because the sparks happened over quite a long distance,” he said.

“Right away, we knew nobody’s going to put this fire out right now without any equipment."

Clark said the Mounties on scene quickly notified the BC Wildfire Service.

“This is a tremendously unfortunate set of circumstances that demonstrates the need for extreme caution and fire awareness during our long wildfire season,” he said.

Samuel said there was another vehicle between him and the police trailer, but he could see the wheel smoking "for a few kilometres" before it fell off.

The RCMP’s Underwater Recovery Team was towing its boat back to the Lower Mainland from nearby Seton Lake, where Mounties had been searching for a swimmer believed to have drowned after diving in off a cliff.

The missing swimmer, a 39-year-old man, failed to resurface after landing awkwardly on a cliff dive on Sunday. Clark said police will have to return with specialized equipment to retrieve the man's body from the deep water it’s believed to be in.

Somewhat cooler Thursday

Fanned by winds and hot temperatures, the Izman Creek wildfire exploded in size on Wednesday from 25 hectares to more than 130.

Temperatures on Thursday are expected to be slightly cooler and cloudier, with a high of 25 C and winds gusting to 40 km/h. Highs are expected to be back up around 30 C on Friday and Saturday.

Three properties along Highway 12 in the area have been under evacuation order since 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Nine more properties are under alert.

The Lytton First Nation has evacuation alerts in place for Spintlum Flats and Lytton 3A to the south of the fire and Lytton 32 to the north.

 

Wildfire near Kelowna airport prompts evacuation order for some residents​

A new wildfire forced tactical evacuations in Kelowna’s Ellison area on Sunday near the city’s international airport.

The Whelan Creek wildfire was discovered just before 4 p.m.

The BC Wildfire Service said the fire was burning out of control but is now being held.

However, seven addresses remain under an evacuation order, along with 106 addresses that are on evacuation alert.

Airspace around the airport was closed for several hours but re-opened on Sunday evening.

Mounties reported that the blaze was burning uphill toward Postill Lake, located northeast of Kelowna, and toward several other nearby lakes that have cabins and campsites.

The BC Wildfire Service says the Whelan Creek wildfire has grown to 4.31 hectares in size.

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen has opened up a muster centre at the Beasley Community Centre for evacuees.

Motorists are being reminded that they should not be stopping along Highway 97 or 33 to look at the wildfire or to take pictures or video.

 

2025 wildfire season one of the worst on record, and it’s not over yet​

Wildfires continue to burn across Canada with twice the area burned so far this year compared to the average for the past decade, according to the latest technical briefing from the Government of Canada.

And it’s expected to continue through September.

Hot temperatures combined with dry conditions have led to one of the most severe wildfire seasons on record, the report said, and western Canada has been “disproportionately” impacted, with the region having the most area burned so far.

The fires have led to multiple air quality warnings issued throughout parts of the country.

“Helping to ensure that the information we are providing is timely, reliable, and supporting effective responses on the ground is becoming more and more important every year because wildfires are becoming more frequent and more severe,” said Minister of Environment and Climate Change Julie Dabrusin speaking at a press conference.

“We know that the changing climate plays a significant role in this. Rising global temperatures are creating longer dry seasons and hotter conditions, which in turn Increases the risk of wildfires. These changes affect not only the environment, but also the health, safety and livelihoods of communities across Canada.”

How bad are the wildfires in 2025?

The National Preparedness Level classifies the amount of national resources committed to an area, as well as the demand for interagency resources through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), according to Natural Resources Canada.

As of July 18, the National Preparedness Level is at 5, the highest on the scale. Specifically, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are at Level 5, while most other provinces and territories are at Level 3.

Currently, there are 561 active wildfires in Canada, compared to 544 on July 17, with 69 considered “Out of Control,” the report says.

Although Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory have recorded the most fires so far in 2025, British Columbia and Alberta currently have the highest number of fires with a “Full Response.”

And more than 5.5 million hectares have been burned since the start of January through to July 18 — more than double the 10-year average of 2.12 million.

The report says higher than normal temperatures and below average rainfall may be key factors that have contributed to the intense and frequent wildfires in regions most impacted.

In the period from July 2024 to June 2025, temperatures were higher than normal across most of Canada, while B.C. saw close to normal values. In the month of June 2025, regions along the U.S. border were reported as having above normal temperatures.

Drought conditions were seen consistently across Canada over the past 12 months, and this has been the case for more than two years, the briefing says. Meanwhile, from April to June of 2025, “significantly lower than normal” rainfall was seen from B.C across to northwestern Ontario.

Eastern regions saw higher than normal precipitation levels from April to June of 2025.

The increasing frequency and severity of these wildfires not only impacts the overall health and safety of Canadians, but also the economy, with the costs quickly adding up every year.

“The last time we gathered for a wildfire forecast briefing, I spoke about how wildfires are not just an environmental issue, but a major economic challenge for Canada as well,” said Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson at the press conference.

“Last year alone, insured damages exceeded $8.5 billion. And by 2040, Natural Resources Canada estimates that fire suppression costs alone could double as wildfires become more frequent and severe.”

Will the situation improve later this season?

At the end of June, Environment and Climate Change Canada projected a high probability of above normal temperatures for “nearly all Canadian regions,” from July to September. Precipitation levels, too, are forecasted to be below normal for B.C. and the Prairies.

More immediately, the rest of July is expected to continue seeing an elevated fire danger throughout western Canada, with the highest fire danger focused on the southern part of Northwest Territories due to ongoing dry conditions.

In August, above average summer temperatures are expected to continue for most of Canada, the report says, with most of eastern Canada expected to see more rainfall, and likely a lower wildfire risk overall.

B.C. is expected to have the highest fire danger in August, which is somewhat consistent compared to previous reports.

Hodgson also announced a $12 million investment over four years to establish the Wildfire Resilience Consortium of Canada, which he says will help Canada to “fight fires better” by sharing knowledge, science and technology with the help of domestic and foreign governments as well as the private sector.

 
And as if what the article lays out isn't bad enough, I get the feeling that BC forests are about to say, "Hold my beer and watch this." Sure is dry out there.
 
And as if what the article lays out isn't bad enough, I get the feeling that BC forests are about to say, "Hold my beer and watch this." Sure is dry out there.
Drove down from Kamloops this morning, things are pretty green. Lots of rain up there recently.

Coastal district is definitely the highest potential at this point but the 2 on the island are being held.
 
Drove down from Kamloops this morning, things are pretty green. Lots of rain up there recently.

Coastal district is definitely the highest potential at this point but the 2 on the island are being held.
I have a Kamloops golf trip in a few weeks and was shocked that there is no fires in that area basically. I guess it all burnt a few years ago so now it's in good shape. I might have just jinxed it for my golf trip...
 
I have a Kamloops golf trip in a few weeks and was shocked that there is no fires in that area basically. I guess it all burnt a few years ago so now it's in good shape. I might have just jinxed it for my golf trip...
Yes we have had a very wet June and July up here.
I love to see the summer rain.
 
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