Summer has officially begun and with it the northwest has had some hot, sunny

weather. As many of us get outside to enjoy the great outdoors, make sure to

stay aware of the fire danger rating and burning regulations in your area. There

are currently no open burning or campfire restrictions in the Northwest Fire

Centre—which stretches from the north coast to just west of Endako and from

the Yukon border south to Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. However, with high

hazard ratings across the northwest it’s very important to be cautious with

burning and outdoor activities.

With lightning recently passing through the area, the NWFC is responding to a

number of new fires. The fire east of Tchesinkut Lake discovered on June 26 was

16 hectares and is now 100 percent contained. Six fires were discovered on June

28 across the region and are being actioned by crews. Thank you to everyone

who reported these fires. The rapid detection of fires is a crucial part of effective

fire suppression. As more lightning fires may become visible over the next few

days, please call 1-800-663-5555 or *5555 on a cellphone if you see smoke.

For more information about current fires, updated conditions or fire regulations

visit bcwildfire.ca.

NWFC responding to lightning fires

2016.06.29

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Wildfire Prevention 2

Open Fire Regulations 3

Weather Maps 4

Weather Indices 5

Restrictions and Contacts 6

The Story of Smokey Bear 7

Smokey Colouring Sheets 7-8

NWFC STATS

Since April 1, 2016

Total fires in NWFC: 40

Human-caused: 32

Lightning-caused: 8

2015 at this time

Total fires in NWFC: 44

Human-caused: 26

Lightning-caused: 18

Provincial Stats

Total fires in BC: 427

Human-caused: 289

Lightning-caused: 78

Other: 60

Tankers action a wildfire east of Tchesinkut Lake on Sunday, June 26.

Northwest Fire Centre

P A G E 2

Wildfire Prevention for Outdoor Recreationalists Prevention means stopping wildfires before they start. Campfires, discarded cigarette butts, hot ex-haust pipes in contact with dry grass and vegetation, power tools (such as chainsaws), Tiki torches and even discarded glass can all ignite a wildfire. It is important to exercise caution when outdoors and when using tools and handling, storing and dispos-ing of materials and fuels.

Campfires

Campfires are a fun addition to any camping trip. To prevent your campfire from turning into a wildfire be sure to;

Check current campfire restrictions for your area

Select your campfire location carefully Remove all leaves, twigs and other flammable ma-terial from around your campfire Never have a campfire when it’s windy Choose a proper fire pit or make a ring of rocks at least three metres from trees, shrubs, structures and debris Do not leave a campfire unattended for ANY amount of time Keep a bucket of at least eight litres of water close by the fire at all times, and/or a hand tool (such as a shovel) to extinguish the fire properly Completely extinguish your campfire before you go to sleep or leave the area for any period of time. To extinguish your campfire, pour plenty of water on the fire and surrounding area, dousing the site of the campfire thoroughly. Stir the campfire until there are no embers and carefully check that the ashes are cool to the touch.

Other Fire Prevention Considerations

Do not discard smoking materials from vehicles. Al-ways use interior ashtrays. Motorized vehicles including All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) and dirt bikes produce a significant amount of heat from their exhaust systems. This heat can be enough to spark a wildfire. Avoid operating any mo-torized vehicle in tall grass and vegetation when the weather is hot and dry.

Bans and Restrictions

Depending on current and anticipated weather condi-tions as well as existing fire activity, the BC Wildfire Service may implement bans and prohibitions that restrict the use of open fire (including campfires) as well as items such as fireworks, Tiki torches, burn bar-rels, sky lanterns, and other potential fire-starting equipment. These prohibitions are put in on a region-al basis, and affect all Crown and private land not un-der the jurisdiction of a local authority (such as a mu-nicipality or First Nation).

If you are within the jurisdiction of a fire department

or local authority, contact them before having any

manner of open fire.

The Sierra Unit Crew from Princeton camped during their

deployment to Ontario.

P A G E 4

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 Wednesday, June 28, 2016 at 1200 PST.

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

P A G E 5

Northwest Fire Centre Indices

Valid as of 12:00 Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Fine Fuel Moisture Code (FFMC)

This code rates the moisture content of cured fine fuels and forest floor litter. It is an indicator of how easily fine fuels will ignite and burn.

Drought Code (DC)

This is a numerical rating of the average moisture content of compact, deep organic layers. It is a useful code for indicating the effects of seasonal drought on forest fuels, and the amount of smouldering that could occur in large logs and deep duff layers.

Duff Moisture Code (DC)

A code that rates the average moisture content of loosely compacted organic layers found at a moderate depth. It indicates fuel consumption in medium-sized woody material and in moderate duff layers.

The Danger Class Report provides both forecasted and estimated Fire Danger Rating (FDR) values for specific weather stations. Danger Class and FDR are equivalent, where 1 and 2 Danger Class equal “low” FDR, 3 equals “moderate”, 4 is “high”, and 5 equals “extreme”.

Different types of codes are used to describe the dryness of forest fuel classes on a given day. These codes are

calculated from weather data gathered by weather stations situated throughout the province.

These codes are part of the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System, which provides a numeric, uniform method of

rating fire danger. Examples of some of the codes are as follows:

P A G E 6

There are currently no prohibitions in the Northwest Fire Centre

Important Numbers

Report a wildfire *5555 on a cell or 1 800 663 5555

Wildfire Information Line 1 888 3FOREST

Burn Registration Line 1 888 797 1717

Northwest Fire Information Officer 1 250 847 6639

Want more information? Visit our website at bcwildfire.ca

Tent layout at fire camp in Pemberton (2015). This fire camp supported a large project fire.

Did you know?

Smokey Bear Colouring Sheets

Smokey Bear was a little orphaned bear cub that got

caught in a wildfire in the Capitan Mountains of New

Mexico in 1950. He climbed up a tree that caught on

fire and he suffered burns. A fire crew found him and he

was flown to Santa Fe to have his burns treated. Once

the media found out about the orphaned bear cub, eve-

ryone wanted to know how he was doing! Smokey be-

came a symbol of conservation and wildfire prevention

and lived out his life at the National Zoo in Washington,

DC. In 1952, a popular song was written by Nelson and Rollins who added “the” to Smokey’s name to

maintain the rhythm, however, Smokey’s name never changed.

Story of Smokey. (2016). Smokeybear.com. Retrieved from https://smokeybear.com/en/smokeys-history/story-of-smokey

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