Weeks of worry ease as alerts lift for wildfires outside Kamloops, Lillooet, B.C.

As provincial officials warned that drought and flood conditions would continue to threaten the province this fall, residents in an area south of Kamloops can relax as all evacuation orders and alerts related to a nearby fire have ended.

In an update Wednesday, Neal McLoughlin withprovincial wildfire co-ordination said parts of northern B.C. saw 75 per cent less precipitation than typically seen last month, conditions that have intensified this year's record-breaking wildfire season.

McLouglin said current drought conditions aren't unexpected in southern B.C., but those in the north are not typical, and dry fuels on forest floors remain "available to burn."

He said most fires in B.C. this year have been caused by lightning strikes, and fall typically sees less lightning activity, coupled with shorter days for fires to actively spread.

"So what you can expect is most of the fires that we'll see through the months of the fall, if there are new fires, they're likely to be caused by humans," McLoughlin said Wednesday.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District has issued the "all-clear" to residents affected by the Rossmoore Lake fire, which was sparked by lightning nine weeks ago and scorched nearly 114 square kilometres before being held.

The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) says an area restriction order covering travel through the fire zone remains in effect until at least Friday.

Recent cooler weather means the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) has also rescinded all orders and alerts for the 110-square kilometre Casper Creek blaze that threatened the communities of Seton Portage and Shalath, west of Lillooet, before being brought under control.

Other evacuation orders are still posted in another region west of Lillooet, where the out-of-control, 93-square kilometre Downton Lake fire destroyed numerous homes and cabins around Gun Lake and has burned to the edge of the South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park.

In a statement, the SLRDconfirmed that 43 structures have been totally destroyed in the blaze, with 11 partially damaged.

Board chair Jen Ford said that, while evacuation orders in the area have been lifted, residents should proceed with caution if they return to the dangerous area and non-residents should avoid the area entirely.

The BCWS says large fires such as the Rossmoore and Downton blazes will continue to smoulder until significant rain or snowfall, but it says no new wildfires have been sparked in the past day and the number of active blazes has fallen below 400.

"We are approaching the tail end of this wildfire season, and I'm pleased to share that an increasing number of people are returning to their communities," said B.C. Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Bowinn Ma.

She, along with Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston and other officials, held a weekly news conference on Wednesday to update wildfire and drought conditions across the province.

Currently, 394 active blazes are burning,with 160 ranked as out of control and the number of fires of note down to 10.

Ralston said at this time last year, 188 wildfires were burning, with five wildfires of note.

'Stormed into our house'

Both Ralston and Ma warned the fall is expected to be dry across the province, with fuels such as leaf fall, grasses and shrubs as potential fuel. Officials said some large, out-of-control fires in areas such as B.C.'s northeast could end up smouldering all winter and flaring up again in the spring.

Of the 23,563 square kilometres that haveburned in the province, 78 per cent of the record-setting amount has been in the Prince George Fire Centre.

Ma said the season is a clear example that climate change is resulting in extreme events and the province is scrambling to come up with ways to cope.

"The climate crisis isn't just knocking on our door, it has stormed into our house, and we have seen the consequences are severe," she said. "Mother Nature is changing fast, and we all need to work together if we want to keep a hope of keeping up."

Ma said the province was still deciding on whether to extend a provincial state of emergency which was extended two weeks ago and is set to expire overnight Thursday into Friday.

Central B.C. fire threat

On Monday night, the regional districts of Fraser-Fort George and Bulkley-Nechako issued an evacuation order due to the 10-square kilometre Ocock Lake blaze as it movedtoward properties in the Noonlang Lake area, about 150 kilometres north of Prince George.

The order is the only one issued in B.C. since Monday.Several other orders and alerts have been ended or downgraded over the same period, including orders covering 25 homes in the West Kelowna wildfire.

Central Okanagan Emergency Operations said residents of properties between the 900- and 1400 blocks of Westside Road on the western shore of Okanagan Lake can go home almost a month after an evacuation was imposed, but they must be ready to leave on short notice.

Evacuation alerts have also been lifted throughout the Westbank First Nation and in parts of several West Kelowna neighbourhoods, including Lower Glenrosa, Smith Creek, Westbank Centre, Shannon Lake and the West Kelowna Business Park.