The forest fire season kicked off to an early start in Smithers.
Earlier this month, 28 firefighters attended a grass fire west of Smithers, that included crews from the Smithers, Telkwa, and Houston fire departments as well as BC Wildfire Service.
It took several hours to take down and several homes were evacuated as a precaution.
It has been hot and dry already and experts foresee more heat waves.
An unusual May heat wave that has sent temperatures soaring 10 to 15 degrees higher than normal across parts of Western Canada should be seen as a warning to prepare for dangerous hot spells outside the normal summer time frame, researchers say.
The unseasonably hot temperatures that began Friday are persisting throughout British Columbia and Alberta this week, raising wildfire and flood risks and triggering heat warnings and advisories.
While the current heat isn’t as severe as the B.C. heat dome in June 2021 that killed hundreds of people, scientists say such prolonged high temperatures in May are highly unusual, and Western Canada will likely see more such heat waves in coming years.
READ MORE: Grass fire near golf course comes dangerously close to homes
How concerned are you about wildfires this year?
-with files from Canadian Press