B.C. wildfire costs, numbers down over last year thanks to wet weather

KAMLOOPS, B.C. – A provincial fire official says rain has dampened wildfire conditions across B.C. this summer.

Hot, dry conditions fuelled a number of blazes early in May, especially in the northeast of the province, but Claire Allen with the B.C. Wildfire service says wet weather has created a downturn in fire activity over the past month.

She says the early fires spiked the wildfire service’s costs and the province has now spent $72.7 million fighting fires this year.

The province had spent $111 million by this point in 2015.

Allen says warm weather is expected in the coming weeks, and crews are prepared to handle any fires that weather may bring.

There have been 533 fires throughout the province this year, torching 934 square kilometres. (CHNL)