Kamloops Fire Centre 2016.04.05

The BC Wildfire Service has taken a tough stand on violations of the Wildfire Act.

Proposed legislative amendments

introduced today as part of the For-

ests, Lands and Natural Resource

Operations Statutes Amendment

Act (Bill 12) include provisions

aimed specifically at people who

interfere with firefighting efforts in

British Columbia.

Additional legislative changes will

result in significantly increased tick-

et fines for 19 different violations

under the Wildfire Act and for sev-

en different violations under Wild-

fire Regulation. These changes

mean that British Columbia now has

some of the highest wildfire-related

violation ticket fines in the country.

For example, the fine for failing to

comply with a fire restriction under

the Wildfire Act is increasing from

$345 (including a $45 victim sur-

charge) to $1,150 (including a $150

victim surcharge). This represents a

333.33% increase over the old fine

for that offence.

On average, 30-40% of wildfires in

British Columbia are human-caused.

The 2015 fire season was one of the

busiest and most expensive in re-

cent years, with over 283,400 hec-

tares burned and over $278 million

spent on wildfire management.

Fire

Zone

# of

Fires

# of

Hectares

Clearwater 0 0

Kamloops 1 0

Salmon 0 0

Vernon 0 0

Penticton 0 0

Merritt 1 3

Lillooet 1 0

WHAT IS A HECTARE?

When it comes to wildfires, size

can be an important issue. The BC

Wildfire Service keeps track of

how big a fire is by recording the

number of hectares consumed.

1 hectare (ha) is a metric unit that

equals: 10,000 square metres,

1 hectare equals about 2.47 acres.

1 hectare is about the size of an

average public sports field.

KAMLOOPS FIRE CENTRE STATISTICS: Since April 1, 2015

Total fires: 3 Total hectares: 3

Loss of property is one of the serious consequences of wildfire.

P A G E 2

Kamloops Fire Centre Newsletter April 2016

Preventing wildfires is everyone’s business.

One of the ways to prevent wildfires is to reduce or stop industrial activity in an area during times of high fire risk. Industrial activities that may start a fire include mowing, grinding and other types of work that may produce sparks, or high heat. Before conducting this type of work, call your local fire zone office or the Kamloops Fire Centre office for advice, or go to our website at www.bcwildfire.ca to check the current fire dan-ger rating.

Municipalities and corporations must take care to abide by legislation under the Wildfire Act. Fail-ure to do so can result in administrative actions being taken including actions to recover expenses incurred by the BC Government for fighting wild-fires.

A person who carries out an industrial activity must do so at a time, and in a manner that can reasonably be expected to not start a wildfire.

Furthermore, a person who spots a fire in a forest or grass-land (or within one kilometre of a forest

or grass land) that appears to be burning unat-tended or uncontrolled must immediately report the fire:

- to an official employed by the Ministry of For-ests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations

- to a peace officer, or

- by calling a fire emergency response telephone number.

Check the link below for the

latest information on burn-

ing restrictions in your area:

http://bcwildfire.ca/

hprScripts/WildfireNews/

Bans.asp

Should a fire escape, the person

undertaking the burn must

attempt to control the fire if

possible. They also must report

the escaped fire by calling

1 800 663 5555 or *5555

Ian Douglas (left), and Mike Sidow, conduct Fire Origin and

Cause training in Merritt.

Did you know?

-The Wildfire Act and Wildfire Regulations are available at http://bcwildfire.ca/LegReg/

-The BC Wildfire Service employs Fire Origin and Cause Specialists who investigate the causes of wildfires. These experts are specially trained to investigate human-caused wildfires and deter-mine how and by whom such fires were started.

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

These maps are current for April 04, 2016

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

P A G E 4

Most recent forecast for Kamloops Fire Center Valid as of 9:30 a.m. on Monday, April 4, 2016.

TODAY: An upper trough moves across the province today, bringing cooler and unsettled weather with it. Isolated to scattered showers are expected across the Fire Centre as a frontal wave moves through, bringing moderate, gusty winds. Shower activity should taper off in western portions of the fire centre starting early this afternoon, moving toward the northeastern portions of the fire centre later this evening. Snow levels today are expected to hover anywhere from 1,300 metres in central portions of the fire centre to almost 1,900 metres in the north closer to the warm sector of the frontal wave. A weak upper low forming in eastern Washington this afternoon could bring enough upper level cooling and lift to spark off some lightning near the inter-national border. However development is expected to be isolated and wet in nature. SOUTH THOMPSON – NORTH THOMPSON – SHUSWAP: TODAY: Cloudy with scattered showers easing late in the day. MAX. TEMPS.: 7-14, MIN. RELATIVE HUMIDITY (RH) 45-60% WINDS: SW 20-30 km/h TONIGHT: Variable cloud. MIN. TEMPS.: minus 1 to plus 3 MAX. RH: 80-90% WINDS: easing to light TOMORROW: Mainly sunny with increasing afternoon cloud and scattered showers developing. MAX. TEMPS.: 9-16 MIN. RH 30-45% WINDS: S 20-30 km/h CHANCE OF LIGHTNING / DRY LIGHTNING Today: 0/0 Tonight: 0/0 Tomorrow: 0/0 OKANAGAN – SIMILKAMEEN – NICOLA: TODAY: Cloudy with isolated showers ending early afternoon. Risk of an isolated thundershower near the international border. MAX. TEMPS.: 12-14 MIN. RH 30-45% WINDS: SW 20-30 km/h; variable and gusty vicinity thundershowers TONIGHT: Variable cloud. MIN. TEMPS.: 2-5 MAX. RH.: 70-90% WINDS: easing to light TOMORROW: Mainly sunny with increasing afternoon cloud and 40% chance of afternoon showers developing over western sections. MAX. TEMPS.: 11-15 MIN. RH 28-35% WINDS: S 15-30 km/h CHANCE OF LIGHTNING / DRY LIGHTNING Today: 10/0 Tonight: 0/0 Tomorrow: 0/0 FRASER CANYON: TODAY: Cloudy with isolated showers ending by noon. MAX. TEMPS.: 13-15 MIN. RH near 30% WINDS: S 30-40 gusting to 60 km/h TONIGHT: Variable cloud. MIN. TEMPS.: 3-6 MAX. RH: 60-80% WINDS: easing to S 10-20 km/h TOMORROW: Mainly cloudy. MAX. TEMPS.: 12-14 MIN. RH near 30% WINDS: S 30-40 gusting to 60 km/h CHANCE OF LIGHTNING / DRY LIGHTNING Today: 0/0 Tonight: 0/0 Tomorrow: 0/0

Kamloops Fire

Centre Statistics

Since April 1, 2016:

Fires to date: 3

Hectares burned: 3

Person-caused fires: 3

Lightning-caused fires: 0

2009 at this time:

Fires to date: 1

Hectares burned: 3

Person-caused fires: 1

Lightning-caused fires: 0

2003 at this time:

Fires to date: 0

Hectares burned: 0

Person-caused fires: 0

Lightning-caused fires: 0

P A G E 5

Kamloops Fire Centre Newsletter April 2016

HOW WILDFIRES ARE DETECTED

Wildfires are detected and reported to the B.C.

Wildfire Service using a variety of methods.

General Public

On average, the public reports about 40 per cent of

all wildfires, more than any other single source.

Report fires by calling 1 800 663 5555 toll-free, or

*5555 on your cellphone. Calls made to these num-

bers are answered by operators at the Provincial

Forest Fire Reporting Centre in Victoria.

Air Patrols

Pilots and trained fire spotters conduct air patrols

by flying predetermined routes over remote areas

during periods of high fire danger, or by following

lightning activity. Commercial and recreational pi-

lots also report wildfires.

Fire Wardens

Fire wardens play an important role in detecting

fires in areas that are experiencing a high fire risk.

About 400 fire wardens are hired by the B.C. Wild-

fire Service on an "as-needed" basis during heavy

forest fire activity.

Infrared Technology

Wildfires in their initial stages are not always visi-

ble by normal means. The BC Wildfire Service

ground personnel and aircraft use thermal imaging

technology to assist with fire operations. Thermal

imaging can detect fires and areas of residual fire

on larger fires and are also used for boundary es-

tablishment, fire mapping and tracking fire pro-

gression.

Computer Technology

The B.C. Wildfire Service has an advanced fire man-

agement computer system that allows it to:

- Obtain current weather information;

- Determine the location of lightning strikes;

- Predict the probability and location of wildfires;

- Predict how a particular wildfire may spread and

at what rate;

- Measure the amount of moisture in the fuels on

the forest floor and in the deep soil.

The BC Wildfire Service uses a variety of me-

dia to help the public learn more about wild-

fire threats, including this fridge magnet.

P A G E 6

Kamloops Fire Centre Indices

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 indi-

cation of whether a fire that starts will con-

tinue 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

“moderate,” 4 is “high” and 5 is “extreme.”

Want more information? Visit the website at bcwildfire.ca

Important Numbers

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

Wildfire Information Line 1 888 3FOREST (336-7378)

Burn Registration Line 1 888 797-1717

Kamloops Fire Centre 250 554-5500

Media and Public Line 250 554-5965