BC Wildfire Service gearing up for new fire season

April 1 marks the official start of wildfire season in B.C. and the Kamloops Fire Centre is gearing up with new recruits, preparing for the upcoming shift to year-round service.

Through April and May, Aydan Coray with BC Wildfire Service Communications says they will be recalling seasonal employees and conducting their new recruit boot camp. This year she says there were over 1,000 applicants provincially, which is comparable to previous years.

Fire activity has not been major yet, but the service is reminding residents to be extra careful.

“We do see fire activity in the spring in the Kamloops Fire Centre — typically grass fires,” explains Coray. “While this fire activity is not unusual for the spring, the grass and other fuels are dead from other the winter and haven’t had a chance to green up, which makes them quite volatile. Combine that with the increasing temperatures and windy conditions that we see in the spring, this can cause fires to spread quite quickly.”

Information bulletins and updates around fire bans or restrictions can be found on the BC Government website (here), and to reports a fire — dial *5555 on your cell phone.