Hot weather could prompt campfire ban

An expected string of hot days means officials from the Coastal Fire Centre will be soon be gauging the possibility of a campfire ban.

“We’ll be looking to decide whether we need one next week,” centre spokeswoman Dorthe Jakobsen said. “Probably on Monday we’ll be assessing what’s happening with the weather.

“Absolutely we’re looking at warm, dry summer weather approaching.”

Last year, a campfire ban was enacted on July 6.

Jakobsen said things are quiet on the wildfire front right now, with the Tugwell Creek fire near Sooke and Rush Creek fire near Nanaimo both being mopped up after peaking last week.

“We’re not calling them out just yet, but they are certainly well under control.”

Environment Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan said hot weather over the next few days will intensify after the weekend.

“We’re going to be one or two, maybe even three degrees above normal for the remainder of this week,” he said.

Normal temperatures range from a high of 22 to a low of 12.

“By late Sunday, Monday and even into Tuesday, we’ll probably be six degrees above normal,” Castellan said. “So nearing 30 degrees there — probably 28, 29 degrees.”

He said two straight days of 29 degrees, with the night in between at 16 or above, would trigger a heat warning “in collaboration with the health authorities.”

The stabilizing presence of a high-pressure ridge is maintaining the lofty temperatures.

Castellan said the region has already had its share of abovenormal temperatures this year, with May being a record-breaking month and June having a warm spell for about a week.

“So we’ve had two very warm situations already,” he said. “But this is different in that we’re in July now so the temperatures are that much higher.

“And the conditions for drought are that much more advanced. There’s very little soil moisture left and, of course, for wildfire the implications are obviously very strong.”