Drought conditions could cause flooding when it does finally rain on Vancouver Island
As of Thursday, there were 50 active wildfires burning in the Coastal Fire Centre – significantly more than normal for this time of year.
Port Alberni has seen more than its share of those fires, with more than a dozen in the past couple weeks. While all of those Port Alberni fires were human-caused, the tinder-dry drought conditions have added fuel to those fires, and Port Alberni Fire Chief Mike Owens worries there will be more brush fires in the coming days.
“We’ve been at extreme fire danger for weeks on end, and the immediate forecast is for us to continue be in that extreme fire danger,” said Owens Thursday.
It’s not just Port Alberni suffering the affects of this unusually hot, dry fall. The last time there was appreciable rainfall in Greater Victoria was July 3.
The Saanich Fire Department tweeted Thursday that the conditions might lead to a ban on Halloween fireworks.
For trees, the drought conditions could mean trouble when the rains do come.
Jared Barabash is an arborist with Urban Tree Care. He says some trees could come down if there’s lots rains in the coming weeks to unduly loosen the soil.
“With the root system, when the soil dries out, potentially it could create unstable conditions, especially when we get our first heavy rainfalls,” said Barabash.
Ashlee Jollymore, of the BC River Forecast Centre, says when rain does inevitably fall, if it’s a lot all at once, it could spell trouble.
“When we do get rain, if the soils are very, very dry they, will not be able to absorb that rain," Jollymore said. "That rain will enter streams very, very quickly, and that’s where you start to get your flash flood concerns as well as just concerns for flooding in general."
The province is already warning people living in typical flood zones to be ready, and has prepared four million sand bags and 32 kilometres of tiger dams just in case the parched earth gets hit hard by rains.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery caught on video
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
New evidence challenges the Pentagon's account of a horrific attack as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan: CNN exclusive
New video evidence uncovered by CNN significantly undermines two Pentagon investigations into an ISIS-K suicide attack outside Kabul airport, during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.