B.C. wildfire fight is helped by smoke, humidity and haze cover

VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s Wildfire Service says it is getting a bit of help in the fight to contain more than 150 active wildfires in the province from the smoke and haze from those fires.

The service says in its latest update that the wildfire smoke over many parts of the province acts like cloud cover, raises the humidity level, blocks the sun during the day and allows the air under the smoke to cool at night.

Temperatures are forecast to increase on Wednesday by up to two degrees across B.C., but the service says the heat may be suppressed in “areas with high smoke concentrations,” such as the Cariboo and Prince George fire centres.

The province had seen a sharp spike in wildfire activity after thousands of lightning strikes over a span of five days at the end of August.

But the service says only 12 new fires were started between Tuesday and Wednesday, versus 24 being declared out.

About 87,000 hectares of land has been placed on evacuation order due to a large fire in B.C.’s Cariboo region, about 75 kilometres northeast of Bella Coola, which covers about 150 parcels of land in the area.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2025.

The Canadian Press