Kamloops Fire Centre 2015.09.25

O ver the month of Sep-tember, fire activity has slowed down signifi-cantly in the Kamloops

Fire Centre. From Sept. 1st to Sept. 25th the BC Wildfire Service re-sponded to five fires in the Kam-loops Fire Centre, which have burned roughly 1100 hectares. The Testalinden Creek fire near Oliver, discovered on August 14th, has been the only fire of note during September. This fire is now in pa-trol. In total, including controlled burns, it consumed 5,202 hectares.

September has been characterized by higher than normal precipitation throughout the Kamloops Fire Cen-tre, which has led to a decreased

risk of new wildfires.

For this reason, Category 2 and 3 open burning is now permitted in the Clearwater zone and at 1200 metres elevation or higher in the Salmon Arm zone. On Oct. 1st, Cat-egory 2 and 3 burning prohibitions will be rescinded in all of the Salm-on Arm zone. If conditions permit, Category 2 and 3 open burning pro-hibitions will be rescinded in the rest of The Kamloops Fire Centre on Oct. 15.

Though the seasonal risk of wildfire is decreasing , The Kamloops Fire Centre asks the public to always be careful when conducting any type of open burning, to mitigate the risk of a fire escaping.

The Testalinden Creek wildfire was discovered on Aug. 14, 2015 and now covers over

5,202 hectares. The photo above was taken during a controlled burn conducted on Sept.

10, to reduce fuel levels in front of the wildfire.

Fire Zone # of Fires # of

Hectares

Clearwater 78 183

Kamloops 88 563

Salmon Arm 63 17

Vernon 49 365

Penticton 100 7,386

Merritt 64 517

Lillooet 17 2,372

During the fall, winter, and spring, the BC

Wildfire Service conducts multiple con-

trolled burns to decrease risk of out of con-

trol fires during the coming fire season.

P A G E 2

News from Kamloops Fire Centre

Check the link below for the latest information on wildfires within the Kamloops Fire Centre.

http://bcwildfire.ca/hprScripts/WildfireNews/FireCentrePage.asp?FC=5

Report a wildfire: 1 800 663-5555 or *5555

The BC Government is

providing new grants total-

ling $500,000 to help com-

munities take action to

reduce wildfire risks on

private land.

The 2016 SWPI FireSmart

Grant program will support

communities to plan for

wildfire prevention activi-

ties on private lands.

FireSmart activities help

decrease wildfire threats to

homes and property and

can prevent damage to

structures.

Funding may be used to:

Enhance public aware-

ness of FireSmart princi-

ples.

Increase community

participation in FireSmart

activities.

Advance planning to

address wildfire mitigation

on private land.

Help communities ob-

tain official recognition as

FireSmart Communities.

The Strategic Wildfire Pre-

vention Initiative is admin-

istered by the Provincial

Fuel Management Working

Group, which includes the

Ministry of Forests, Lands

and Natural Resource Op-

erations, the Union of

British Columbia Munici-

palities and the First Na-

tions Emergency Services

Society.

The FireSmart Communi-

ties program is adminis-

tered by Partners in Pro-

tection Association (PiP).

Applications for the SWPI

FireSmart Grant program

are being accepted until

Nov. 30, 2015. The Pro-

gram & Application Guide

and Application Form is

available on the UBCM

website: http://

www.ubcm.ca/EN/main/

funding/lgps/current-

lgps-programs/strategic-

wildfireprevention.html

Grants Worth $500,000 Help Build FireSmart Communities

As the risk of wildfire dies

down, BC Wildfire Service

as well many companies

and private citizens will

begin conducting con-

trolled burning activities

throughout the fire centre.

Wildfire is a natural pro-

cess in the wilderness. It

helps reduce built up fuel

and is an important pro-

cess in revitalization of eco

systems in British Colum-

bia. Due to advanced fire

suppression techniques,

many naturally occurring

fires are quickly sup-

pressed, preventing the

natural burning cycle near

settlements and other built

up areas. Because of this,

fuel in these areas can in-

crease to dangerous levels,

and should be disposed of

during a safer time of year

when open fires are less

likely to escape and cause

damage.

The Kamloops Fire Centre

reminds residents that

they may see an increase

in smoke in certain areas

due to prescribed burning.

While smoke can be a nui-

sance, the prescribed burn-

ing activities are healthy

mitigation methods that

can help to prevent disas-

trous wildfires at a later

date. All Category 3 fires

require a burn registration

number which can be ob-

tained free of charge by

calling 1-888-797-1717. A

registration number is re-

quired so authorities can

be aware of the locations

of these fires. If a member

of the public becomes

aware of what appears to

be a wildfire it is still im-

portant to report it to au-

thorities.

Expect More Smoke as Controlled Burn Operations Increase

P A G E 3

Precipitation

Temperature Relative Humidity

These maps are for informational purposes only and should not be used to make operational decisions.

Fire Danger Rating

For the most recent weather maps, please visit www.bcwildfire.ca/weather

P A G E 4

Most recent forecast for KFC Valid as of 9:30 a.m. on Sept 25, 2015

SYNOPSIS: An upper trough digging along the Pacific coast and an upper ridge over the Prairies are giving the forecast region a southwesterly flow with some cloud, and a chance of showers in the North Thompson. A Pacific front will be moving through northern BC, dragging an cold front through the region from the northwest starting overnight or early tomorrow and leaving the region by tomorrow night. The front will bring light showers to upslope areas, but will be dry otherwise. TODAY: Subsident Zone and Monashees: Frequent cloudy periods. Winds south southwest 20 to 30 gusting 50 km/h and south 40 gusting 70 km/h in the Fraser Canyon. High temperatures 20 to 24 and RH values falling to 20 to 35 percent. North Thompson: Becoming mainly cloudy by afternoon with a 60 percent chance of a shower. Winds south southwest to southeast 15 to 25 km/h. High temperatures 16 to 20 and RH values falling to 20 to 35 percent. TONIGHT: Subsident Zone and Monashees: Becoming mainly cloudy overnight with a 40 percent chance of showers by morning. Winds southwest 10 to 20 km/h. Low temperatures 10 to 14 and RH recoveries to 60 to 80 percent. North Thompson: Mainly cloudy with scattered showers. Winds becoming light and variable overnight. Low temperatures 6 to 10 and RH recoveries to 60 to 80 percent. TOMORROW: Subsident Zone and Monashees: Mainly cloudy with isolated showers. Winds southwest 15 to 25 km/h with east 15 to 25 in the South Thompson, north-west 15 to 25 km/h in the Okanagan and south 30 gusting 50 km/h in the Fraser Canyon. High temperatures 16 to 20 and RH values falling to 20 to 35 percent. 3 TO 5 DAY OUTLOOK: The upper trough rotates through the region on Sat-urday maintaining temperatures in the upper teens to low twenties with winds southwest 15 to 25 km/h under mainly sunny skies. By Sunday an up-per ridge will start to build along the coast and temperatures will warm into the low to mid twenties. Winds will be westerly 10 to 20 km/h. The ridge will be over the fire centre region on Monday with temperatures in the low to mid twenties and light and variable winds. 6 TO 10 DAY OUTLOOK: Ridging over the region giving warm and dry condi-tions, giving way to a cooler trough by day 9.

Kamloops Fire

Centre Statistics

Since April 1, 2015:

Fires to date: 459

Hectares burned: 11,404

Person-caused fires: 154

Lightning-caused fires: 305

2009 at this time:

Fires to date: 1021

Hectares burned: 53, 387

Person-caused fires: 263

Lightning-caused fires: 741

2003 at this time:

Fires to date: 745

Hectares burned: 106, 405

Person-caused fires: 284

Lightning-caused fires: 460

P A G E 5

Kamloops Fire Centre Indices—Sept 8 2015

For general weather information, visit: http://bcwildfire.ca/Weather/

Want more weather information?

View an interactive map of the weather stations here: http://

webmaps.gov.bc.ca/imf5/imf.jsp?site=protection

View a daily list of the danger class rating here: http://bcwildfire.ca/

hprScripts/DgrCls/index.asp?Region=5

Find how danger class relates to industry operations here: http://

bcwildfire.ca/Industry_Stakeholders/industry/HighRiskActivities.htm

P A G E 6

Fine Fuel Moisture Codes

Report a wildfire *5555 on a cell or 1 800 663-5555

Wildfire Information Line 1 888 3FOREST

Burn Registration Line 1 888 797-1717

Kamloops Fire Information Officer 1 250 554-5965

Want more information? Visit the website at bcwildfire.ca

Important Numbers

W eather information is used to

develop codes to indicate

how dry the different classes

of fuels are in the forest. From this infor-

mation, preparedness levels are set on a

daily basis.

The FFMC (Fine Fuel Moisture Code) is

a code that measures the dryness of fine

fuels (grasses, needles, etc.). A number of

85 or higher indicates a good chance of a

fire start from an ignition source. Once 90

or higher is reached, all the fine fuels are

available to burn.

The DMC (Duff Moisture Code)

measures about 10 cm into the ground and

is an indication of whether a fire that starts

will continue to burn in the duff. A number

of 40 or greater would indicate that a fire

will continue to burn.

The DC is the Drought Code, measuring

deeper in the ground. A number of 300 or

greater indicates that the fire will burn

deep into the ground, providing challenges

to mop it up.

The Danger Class is the typical Fire Dan-

ger Rating that is seen on fire signage,

where 1 and 2 represent Low, 3 is Moder-

ate, 4 is High, and 5 is Extreme. A map of

the current Fire Danger Ratings is on Page

3.

* If you have any questions about which

weather station you should be monitor-

ing, please contact your company forest-

er or local fire zone for information.