Firefighters in BC are battling seven human-caused fires in the interior of the province, heralding the start of what officials say could be a ‘challenging’ fire season.An evacuation alert was issued in the Cariboo regional district near Quesnel and Williams Lake, although six others were either out, being held or under control. As of Sunday, more than 40 firefighters were battling the fire in the Burgess Creek area.All seven were caused in a single afternoon last Saturday, although the exact causes hadn’t been determined.In BC, ‘human caused’ can refer to all blazes sparked by anything other than lightning, ranging from agricultural or industrial burning, unattended campfires, backcountry RVs to discarded cigarettes — and arson.Out of control grass fires were also reported near Kamloops and Lytton, which were also suspected to have been caused by human activity..Meanwhile in Alberta, evacuation orders were issued for about 30 residents living near Cold Lake even as alerts in Lac Ste. Anne and Slave Lake were lifted.In a statement posted to social media Monday night, officials said the fire has been mostly contained but the risk of flare-ups meant the evacuation order remains in place.Also on Monday night, officials lifted an evacuation alert for the hamlet of Saprae Creek, about 30 km southeast of Fort McMurray. As of Monday night, it was listed as being held.On Tuesday, air tankers were dropping fire retardant as crews worked to fully contain it. As of Tuesday morning, 73 wildfires were burning across Alberta with just one — the aforementioned Slave Lake fire — listed as out of control.
