B.C. wildfires on the rise as August turns hot and dry

SPARWOOD, B.C. -

After a slow start to wild fire season in B.C., there are now 149 active fires in the province, with 57 of those in the southeast fire zone.

For Sparwood B.C. though, there’s one practically in its backyard., and it’s one of four fires of note in the province, meaning it’s larger enough to be given a name.

The B.C. wildfire service has dubbed it the Cummings Creek fire.

Sarah Hall, an information officer with the B.C. wildfire service said “the Cummings Creek fire is about five kilometers west of the town of Sparwood and is approximately 52 hectares in size.”

While this certainly sounds like bad news for the town of Sparwood, conditions have actually been in favour of the town and the threat has diminished.

“With the recent favourable conditions that we have been seeing, we did have a large number of structure protection personnel on site. Now just due to these favourable (conditions), we're starting to see those structure protection crews get sent home,” Hall said.  

This is all good news for a town that has experienced plenty of smoky and hazy days the last couple of fire seasons.

One person who’s very relieved over the turn of events is district of Sparwood mayor David Wilks.

He says he’s no longer concerned about this particular fire.

"Right now it doesn't look like its going to be coming towards Sparwood. B.C. Wildfire Service has done an exceptional job of containing it in the Cummings Creek area. Right now we're just relying on the fire smart program we have with the town,” said Wilks

Despite the good news regarding the Cummings Creek fire, Wilks knows the town and region isn’t out of the woods yet.

He wants to remind everyone to stay fire smart.

Wilks suggests to “make sure your residences are clear of debris so that if anything did start to come into Sparwood it wouldn't have fuel source. That makes a big difference.”

Towns in the east Kootenays will be under threat of more wildfires until snow comes to the area.

Until then residents will have to stay cautious.

To stay up to date on B.C. wildfires you can visit the B.C. Wildfire Service’s dashboard.