The Shuswap is a tinder box and rain, if it comes, is several days away.
Despite high to extreme conditions and the fire ban that went into effect Friday, a property owner up Parkhill Road near 60th Avenue and 35th Street NE set a fire to clean up his property on Monday.
Luckily, a passerby saw the smoke and flames and called 911.
The Salmon Arm Fire Department’s halls 1, 2 and 3 responded at 2:11 p.m. and quickly doused the flames. But fire chief Brad Shirley says he can’t believe everyone is not aware of the fire ban.
“I just shake my head. I am baffled as to why people are oblivious to this,” he says, noting the fire had the potential to burn a lot of property. “The worst part is, he wasn’t even tending to it. He was in the house.”
Meanwhile, thunderstorms June 29 and 30 produced 10,000 lightning strikes in the Kamloops Fire Centre, with pop-up fires making their appearance over the weekend.
Fire information officer Kayla Pepper says most of the hits were in the Upper Seymour River, with one small one in Perry River. All were less than a hectare.
Rapattack crews were sent in to attack the remote fires and helped the Scotch Creek Fire Department with a blaze in Lower Scotch Creek on Sunday night.
Air patrols are being flown every day where the main lightning system went through.
A fire located on the south side of Mt. Ida at the beginning of last week was just 0.5 hectares and is now completely out.
“There are no fires of any size,” says Pepper. “But we still picked up at least seven human-caused fires over the weekend.”
Fire wardens are also patrolling during the campfire ban. Fines for lighting a campfire are $345 per person and penalties for starting a wildfire can be $10,000 and up to a year in jail. And you may be required to pay all firefighting costs.
Meteorologist Lisa Coldwells says the smoke blanketing the Shuswap is from a wildfire in Pemberton.
She says a small weather disturbance due to arrive Saturday morning looks like it could bring some shower activity to the eastern part of the province.
If the smoke allows temperatures to climb to the 35C forecast for Wednesday, it would tie a record set in 1968. Thursday’s forecast for 37C would break the old record of 36.7C set in 1975.