While cooler spring temperatures have helped slow the start of BC’s fire season, two weeks of high temperatures have increased fire danger in the southern half of the province. And above-average temperatures are expected to continue into September. The province hosted a wildfire update Thursday morning, providing a seasonal forecast for the rest of the summer. Neil McLoughlin, chief of forecasting services with the BC Wildfire Service, said warmer temperatures are forecast to continue into B.C. by mid-September, which will likely lead to more fires. “Last week there were about 149 new fires and we expect a similar number of fires through August,” McLoughlin said. Of these new launches, 121 are now classified as held, under review or out. He noted that this fire season is trending similar to 2020 and 2011, so far. In the past week, a number of large fires have broken out in the Southern Interior and there are now six ‘fires’ in the province. The change in fire conditions occurred in the last half of July, due to a ridge of high pressure that brought some of the hottest temperatures of the year to southern BC. “This extended period of heat and drought has steadily cured our fuels and increased our fire danger across the province,” McLaughlin said. From July 14 to July 27, the ease of ignition and the potential for rapid fire growth and high fire intensities “increased significantly” across most of the province, according to McLoughlin’s data. When this ridge of high pressure collapsed in late July, it brought thunderstorms and strong winds. About 35,000 lightning strikes were recorded in B.C. in the last week of July and 121 new fires were started during that period. “As these winds aligned with the terrain, it led to rapid fire spread and aggressive fire behavior that was difficult to fight,” he said. However, despite an increase in fire activity over the past week or so, this year’s fire season remains less severe than the province’s 20-year average and much better than 2021. To date, just 22,000 hectares of land have burned in the province this year , which is about 20% of the 20-year BC average. for this time of year. And at this time last year more than 570,000 acres had burned. “This is mainly due to the fact that we had above normal amounts of precipitation during the winter, cool temperatures in the spring, slow snowmelt and a really late start to the fire season,” McLoughlin said. “We had a two-week dry spell that increased fire danger, but nothing compared to over a month of drying we’ve seen in previous years.” There remain 91 active fires in the province. The Nohomin Creek Fire, burning northwest of Lytton, is the largest fire in the province, at about 3,700 hectares. There are 326 properties under evacuation orders, but at this time last year nearly 4,300 B.C. ORIGINAL: 10:25 AM The province is hosting a fire briefing Thursday morning for a look at forecast conditions through August.