At the peak of wildfire activity over the past couple of weeks, more than 5,000 British Columbians found themselves under evacuation order or alert, but as of Tuesday just 55 properties remain under order.
“Between the cooler weather we are seeing in some parts of the province right now and the decrease in evacuation orders, I would love to say this is a sign we are winding down the wildfire season, but it is not,” said Emergency Preparedness Minister Bowinn Ma, who cautioned unstable weather could cause the situation to change rapidly.
In the past week alone, B.C. has recorded 7,500 lightning strikes, which have ignited 256 fires.
The BC Wildfire Service says four-person initial attack crews are frequently the first firefighters on scene to assess new fires and try to bring them under control before they can threaten communities.
The teams can be fully self-sustainable for 24 hours or …