PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — The BC Wildfire Service says rainfall and cooler temperatures mean a return to more seasonal weather conditions, reducing the risk of wildfires in the province's northeast.
It says campfires will be allowed again in the Fort Nelson Forest District and Peace Forest District, but any open flame larger than a half-metre wide by a half-metre high is still banned.
Environment Canada says showers are in the forecast later this week in Prince George in central B.C., near several major blazes including the 910-square-kilometre Shovel Lake fire.
Despite the cool and damp weather on the weekend, most of the province, including Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, remains under air quality advisories due to wildfire smoke.
The wildfire service says 2018 has officially become the second-worst wildfire season on record, with 9,450 square kilometres of land burned, behind 2017, when over 12,000 square kilometres were scorched.
The third-worst year for wildfires in B.C. was 1958.
