By Amanda Stephenson
CALGARY (Reuters) -Canada’s wildfire season has begun, with officials in the western-most province of British Columbia warning that the next few days pose a heightened risk of blazes.
B.C.’s wildfire service said on Friday that there were 26 active wildfires burning in the province, two of which were out of control.
It warned unseasonably warm, dry and windy conditions are creating elevated fire risk conditions.
One of the out-of-control fires spanned 56 hectares (138 acres) on Friday and was located north of the city of Fort St. John in the northeast part of the province.
That fire temporarily forced the evacuation of some of the city’s residents on Thursday evening, but evacuees were permitted to return home on Friday as the fire continued to move northeast away from the city.
The second out-of-control fire spanned 185 hectares (457 acres) as of Friday morning and was located southeast of the community of Dawson Creek, in the northeast part of the province.
The B.C. government urged people not to conduct any open burning and to report any wildfires, big or small.
Canada’s 2024 wildfire season was one of the most destructive on record, largely due to the devastation caused by a blaze that ripped through a tourist town in the Canadian Rockies.
(Reporting by Amanda StephensonEditing by Bill Berkrot)
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