Sweltering heat and smoke are stifling B.C. where 324 wildfires are burning as of Monday morning.
Lightning strikes ignited tinder dry landscapes in near cities and towns around the province. In turn, there have been evacuation orders near in the Central and East Kootenay as well as in Thompson-Nicola, Cariboo and Bulkley — Nechako in the northwest.
The BC Wildfire Service said in its Sunday update that the heat and wind was doing crews no favours, and those conditions were expected to persist.
Environment Canada reiterated that message the next day, issuing more heat warnings for B.C.’s Southern Interior, as well as a air quality advisories for Fort Nelson, Peace River, South Thompson, 100 Mile, Kootenay Lake, East and West Kootenay, East and West Columbia, Kinbasket and the Arrow-Slocan Lake.
It did, however, indicate the three-week run of record high heat was nearing an end.
“An extended period of high temperatures will continue as a ridge of high pressure remains over the region,” the national weather agency reported on Monday.
“As the ridge shifts eastward, a gradually cooling trend is expected beginning tonight with daytime high temperatures lowering below warning criteria on Tuesday.”
On Sunday, Environment Canada said more than a dozen heat warnings were broken, five of which showed above 40 C heat and several were more than a century old.
The hottest spot was Lytton, where a new record of 42.2 C broke a record of 42.1 C set in 2006. Close on its heels was Kamloops, where a new record of 41.1 C toppled a previous record of 38.9 C set in 1908.
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Trail set a new record of 41.4 C breaking a record of 38.5 C set in 1994.
In the Okanagan, the hotspot was Vernon, where mercury reached 40.1 C, breaking a record of 40 C set in 1908. Nearby, Kelowna set a new record of 39.7 C, breaking a record of 38.9 C set in 1994. Summerland also saw searing heat, setting a record of 37.2 C, and breaking a record of 37.0 set in 1994.
Clearwater was the last spot with a 40-plus temperature recorded, with a new record of 40.4 C. That broke a record of 38.9 C set in 1938.
Saturday’s 16 high temperatures were preceded by 14 B.C. communities breaking or matching their daily high-temperature records, with Lytton reaching a high of 41.2 C, breaking a record of 40.6 C set in 1946. Temperature records also fell in the B.C. communities of Cranbrook, Merritt, Princeton, Trail and Vernon, with all five communities reaching at least 36 C.
Environment Canada is warning people to look for early signs of heat illness since these symptoms can develop into life-threatening emergencies.
Remaining Sunday records
Blue River
New record of 38.9 C
Old record of 35.2 C set in 2006
Cache Creek
New record of 37.8 C
Old record of 37.0 set in 1994
Cranbrook
New record of 37.4 C
Old record of 36.6 C set in 1985
Dawson Creek tied record of 33.3 C set in 1938
Dease Lake
New record of 31.1 C
Old record of 28.8 C set in 1990
Golden
New record of 37.7 C
Old record of 36.7 C set in 1936
Lillooet
New record of 39.7 C
Old record of 39.4 C set in 1935
Mackenzie
New record of 34.6 C
Old record of 32.7 C set in 2006
Merritt tied record of 39 C set in 2006
Nelson
New record of 39.8 C
Old record of 38.1 C set in 1994
Prince George
New record of 34 C
Old record of 33.5 C set in 2006
Princeton tied record of 38.3 C set in 1938
Quesnel
Preliminary new record of 38.1 C
Old record of 36.1 C set in 1904
Smithers
Preliminary new record of 32 C
Old record of 30.5 C set in 2006
Sparwood
Preliminary new record of 34.8 C
Old record of 34 C set in 1979
Yoho Park
Preliminary new record of 33.2 C
Old record of 32.2 C set in 1936
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