British Columbia heat wave breaks records – Northwest Territories brace for another record-breaking summer of forest fires

Desdemona Despair

By Meagan Wohlberg
4 June 2015

(Vice) – It usually takes at least a few months before forestry officials in the Northwest Territories start talking about firefighter fatigue, but all 28 fire crews had the last weekend of May off in order to avoid impending burnout.

The proactive measure is just one indicator that this year’s fire season is shaping up to be as intense as last year’s record-breaking blowout, in which 3.5 million hectares and $60 million were consumed as crews desperately tried to control an inferno previously unseen in the typically fire-ready part of Canada.

Residents were held hostage last summer by blocked highways and smoke that made air quality levels unsafe to go outside.

And this week, the territory’s environment minister all but quashed any hope that things would be different this year.

“I do not wish to be the bearer of bad weather reports, but as Mother Nature may have it, and based on the reports from our meteorologist, we will once again experience drought over the summer of 2015,” Environment and Natural Resources Minister Michael Miltenberger announced Monday in the NWT legislature.

Just a month into fire season, the NWT has already seen 51 fires and over 170,000 acres burn. That’s seven times the 20-year average, which would see around seven fires and approximately 12,000 acres burned at this point of the year. [more]

Canada’s Northwest Territories Are Looking at Another Record-Breaking Summer of Forest Fires 

By Lauren Sundstrom
8 June 2015

(Van City Buzz) – If you found yourself feeling the heat this weekend, you probably weren’t alone. Temperatures soared in parts of the province, and Metro Vancouver was no exception.

On Sunday, the mercury rose to 26 degrees Celsius in Vancouver, along with Abbotsford. Richmond saw temperatures rise to 24 degrees and North Vancouver topped out at 25 degrees.

Other parts of B.C. saw record shattering numbers, with Castlegar hitting nearly 35 degrees and Lillooet climbing to almost 36 degrees. [more]

B.C. heat wave broke records this past weekend