Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, and Chetwynd break heat records on Thursday

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, and Chetwynd have all set new day records for heat on Thursday, September 5th, 2024. 

Environment Canada defines a day record as the highest recorded temperature for a specific day, which can be compared to previous temperatures on that same day from previous years. 

According to Environment Canada, Fort St. John set a new day record of 28.6 degrees Celsius on September 5th. The old record was 28.3 Celsius, set in 1934. 

Dawson Creek set a day record of 31.6 Celsius, breaking its old record of 29.2 Celsius in 2006. 

Chetwynd’s record is now 30.7 Celsius after previously being set at 28.5 Celsius in 2017.

Other communities that set new day records include Williams Lake, Mackenzie and Quesnel. 

Environment Canada urges residents to expect hot, dry weather through the weekend and says wildfire smoke is still a concern in many areas. 

Safety tips from the Government of Canada on wildfire smoke and air quality can be found here.