Donnie Creek wildfire is now 2nd largest recorded in B.C.'s history

A wildfire in northeastern B.C. has now burned an area close to the size of Metro Vancouver, while officials continue to closely monitor blazes across the province amid ongoing warm, dry weather.

B.C. Wildfire Service information officer Jean Strong says the Donnie Creek fire is now burning more than 2,400 square kilometres, making it one of the largest recorded in the province's history.

"I think it's close to the size of Metro Vancouver when I was looking at it yesterday," Strong told host Stephen Quinn on CBC's The Early Edition on Monday.

The Metro Vancouver Regional District, which includes a large area of backcountry north of the North Shore and Tri-Cities, covers more than 2,880 square kilometres.

The B.C. Wildfire Service is still categorizing the Donnie Creek fire as a wildfire of note, meaning it is highly visible or poses a potential threat to public safety.

Based on historical data from the province, Donnie Creek is one of the largest wildfires ever recorded in B.C.

The largest recorded was the 2017 Plateau Fire near Williams Lake, an amalgamation of several smaller fires that burned a total of 5,451 square kilometres. The Hanceville Riske Creek fire southwest of Williams Lake that same year burned 2,411 square kilometres and the 2018 Tweedsmuir Complex burned 3,015 square kilometres.

However, wildfire officials say because those complexes consisted of multiple fires burning in separate but nearby areas, they are not considered a single blaze which means Donnie Creek is now the second largest on record.

Wildfires on Vancouver Island, Okanagan

Over the weekend, the Newcastle Creek fire near Sayward was downgraded to being held, but two new wildfires sparked further south on Vancouver Island.

The Cameron Bluffs wildfire east of Port Alberni was discovered on June 3 and is suspected to be human caused. It is currently listed as out of control, meaning it's continuing to spread and isn't responding to suppression efforts.

A fire that ignited just a few kilometres south of Nanaimo is now under control.

In the southern Interior, the B.C. Wildfire Service is responding to a new blaze it has named Pigeon Creek wildfire, which is burning close to Highway 97C just north of Peachland. 

The fire is estimated to be just a few hectares in size but is listed as out of control. The wildfire service says it is burning in steep terrain and is visible to travellers along the highway, while smoke from the fire is spreading across the Okanagan region.

The new fires have ignited during a warm, dry start to June, which has prompted concerns that this year could be particularly bad for wildfires.

According to Environment Canada, Fort St. John will be dry and sunny all week, with daytime temperatures in the high 20s and a humidity of around 40 per cent. 

The federal agency also forecasts sunny weather in Kelowna, with daytime temperatures increasing from 24 C on Monday to 36 C on Thursday and humidity as low as 25 per cent, but showers are expected to cool down the city over the weekend.

Ignition causes

The B.C. Wildfire Service says suspected causes of fires so far this year are split around 50/50 between humans and lightning.

The agency's lead fire weather forecaster, Matt MacDonald, says while people tend to picture a cigarette being flicked out of a car window as a typical spark for human-caused wildfires, that's not so common anymore. 

Ignition can also come from a train, a chainsaw, a campfire that hasn't been fully doused, or from people running gas-powered vehicles in the bush.

"If you're riding a dirt bike or a quad or a side-by-side, maybe you don't have a spark arrestor on your muffler, on your exhaust," MacDonald said. "We're really trying to encourage people to be extremely cautious."