Well, the hot weather has finally arrived in BC, and with it fire starts and evacuations have picked up as a consequence. We are adding around 20-25 new fire starts a day. Even though we had dome pretty well in southern BC this year as a result of cooler wetter weather, the underlying drought remains a concern. This is especially true in the northeast corner of the province where drought remains severe.
Even with the cooler wetter conditions, 2025 is already in the top 10 all time years for BC in terms of area burned thanks to what has gone on in the northeast. By the end of the year, either 8 or 9 of the 10 worst fire years ever recorded in BC will have occurred in the last 10 years.
I just heard an interesting interview with one of a group of researchers investigating the effects of climate change on large gatherings like concerts, festivals, and athletic events. No surprise, this has increasingly become a problem for BC in the last 10 years, and now is a standard part of planning for these events.
I am part of a group that is bringing a national athletic championship to the Lower Mainland next year and a world championship in 2027. Unfortunately due to the nature of the sport, we can't really come up with contingency plans other than cancellation if there is too much heat and smoke.
And I also just heard that due to the ongoing fires in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, which have dropped out of the headlines but are still burning away, air quality warnings cover Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and western Ontario, and expected to spread east and south in the coming days.
LC |
