Telkwa Fire Rescue Chief Laurence Turney says their emergency calls for this time of year are up 75%.
So what is causing this? Well, there are numerous factors that go into it.
“Emergency calls are a wide variety of things from a fire to someone choking. Our crews have been quite busy as of late, and we will continue to respond accordingly,” says Turney.
In hopes of reducing emergency calls for fires, Turney says he has a message for everyone in the Bulkley Valley who plans on doing a burn in the next little bit.
“As the snow begins to melt, people become more active and include either fires or burning of certain areas into their routine. People are allowed to do whatever they please within certain restrictions, but they have to be prepared. I can’t stress enough that if you’re having a fire, water down the immediate area. Also, be very cognizant of the weather conditions. Wind can play a huge factor and change at any minute, so it’s asked that no burning is done during windy times.”
Turney says with the heat we’ve seen over the last little while, conditions are unfortunately very favorable for fires to spread easily.
On a side note, Burns Lake Fire Rescue has also submitted their emergency call times over the past 5 days, saying they have spent 198 hours responding to calls.