First wildfire of the year spotted south of Valemount

The province's first recorded wildfire of 2024 was spotted just before January ended.

South of Valemount, the fire is estimated to be 1.5 hectares as BC Wildfire crews allow it to run its course near Kinbasket Lake.

After it was first discovered on Jan. 31, wildfire crews are monitoring the blaze, expecting it to remain within a safe boundary.

While there are 91 wildfires still active in the the province, this is the only blaze that started after October and the only one that isn't under control, according to the BC Wildfire Service website.

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The other 90 fires are considered active, where most are within hard-to-access areas in the northeast region of the province. Many have burned deep into the ground, making them more difficult to extinguish.

It's not uncommon for some fires to burn through the winter, dubbed "zombie fires" when they flare up again come spring, but usually there are a couple dozen that continue burning in the winter at most.

A warmer and drier winter has made for low snowpack levels in some regions. In the area south of Valemount where the newest wildfire is, the current snowpack is around 60 per cent of normal levels, according to BC snow basin measurements.

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BC Wildfire Service was not immediately able to respond to questions about the newest fire.

— With files from The Canadian Press.

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