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Tuesday July 15, 2014
Volume 20, No. 56
The temperature in the Comox Valley has been truly warm leading people to find ways to cool down like swimming and tubing down the Puntledge River.
Hot spell increases risk of wildfires on Island By Michael Briones Echo Staff The heat is on. Temperatures are rising into the 30s and the Coastal Fire Centre is warning the public about the increasing fire danger on Vancouver Island including the Comox Valley. On Sunday, the temperature recorded at the Comox Airport peaked at 32.5 C and broke the record of 31.1 C that was set in 1961. In Campbell River, it hit 33.8 C to snap the record of 32.8 set in 1961. Yesterday, at press time the valley's temperature topped 29 C and was inching close to resetting the previous high of 29.4 C from 1958. Today it's expected to climb up to 31 C and may break the old high of 31.7 C that was set in 1958. According to Environment Canada meteorologist, Allan Coldwells, the heat spell is expected to cool off starting on Wednesday and return to normal trends. Meanwhile, Donna MacPherson, fire information officer for the Coastal Fire Centre, said conditions are still being evaluated and they are expected to make a decision in the next two days whether a campfire prohibition will be introduced. "We want to tell the public to keep an eye on our website (bcwildfire.ca) for current information," said MacPherson. "The Comox Valley area right now is in high fire danger rating. We're looking at the hot-dry to continue for predominantly most of this week but on Thursday we're going to be having a wind event come through as well, which is also a concern for us. So we're cautioning people to be very careful." If by Thursday, no campfire ban is implemented, MacPherson advises people to take extra caution while in the forest. The Coastal Fire Centre covers the whole of Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. So far it has already dealt with 53 forest fires. "Normally we have 64. That's our ten year average," said MacPherson. "It's indicative of how wet it was last spring. We're quickly catching up. We had nine person-caused fires over the weekend. Unfortunately, people aren't being careful." The biggest fire incident to date took place on north Vancouver Island, near Gold River, just outside Campbell River. "That grew very quickly," said MacPherson. "That's worth noting that the fire danger is there. It was a fire that started in the fire department's jurisdiction on a landfill area that they had. But the sparks blew into the forest and it got to about a hectare in size pretty quickly." Open backyard burning is banned in the City of Courtenay, Town of Comox, Merville and Tsolum, while in the Village of Cumberland permits are required at no charge to the applicant. For information regarding the Comox Valley Regional District, you can check out its website.
Vancouver Island MusicFest attendees this past weekend used everything imaginable to protect themselves from the blazing sun and and keep their cool. The sold-out event was another huge success.
With the heat wave, people are being advised to be prepared as well when they go out to the park, rivers, forest and the beach. David Wray, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said temperatures will likely break records in the province this week. He said it is important to wear sunscreen because it will only take about 15 minutes for skin to burn. The BC SPCA is also advising pet owners
not to leave their dogs in hot cars, not even for a few minutes. Spokeswoman Lorie Chortyk says despite all the warnings about the dangers of leaving animals in cars in the summer, the agency is "being inundated with calls this summer to rescue pets left in parked vehicles." Last month, the BC SPCA responded to 228 calls to rescue dogs in distress, who had been left in hot cars by their guardians.
"In just minutes, the temperature in a parked car can climb to well over 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit). Dogs have no sweat glands, so they can only cool themselves by panting and by releasing heat through their paws," she said. Dogs can withstand high temperatures for only a very short time - in some cases just minutes - before suffering irreparable brain damage or death, she added.