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Officials worried about coming fire season in B.C.

KELOWNA, B.C. — Quietly, behind the scenes, the B.C. Forest Service is mobilizing an army.

KELOWNA, B.C. — Quietly, behind the scenes, the B.C. Forest Service is mobilizing an army.

The provincial agency is preparing for another forest fire season, hoping there won’t be a repeat of last year, when a rash of fires ate a hole in the B.C. government’s budget.

And early indications are raising concerns.

There have already been grass and bush fires, the area of West Kelowna banned open fires in march, and the wildfire management branch of the B.C. Forest Service is already looking at putting its air tankers on standby.

“We are aware that the conditions are fairly dry, especially below 1,000 metres,” said Steve Schell, the new manager of the Kamloops Fire Centre.

“Obviously, the spring rains will determine what kind of a season we have. In our business, the weather drives the business.”

Schell said ministry forecasters are reviewing weather data and monitoring information on low snowpacks, but it is difficult to predict what the summer weather will bring this far in advance.

“Our crews are ready,” he said. “They started to arrive around the fire centre area on March 15 and they are going through training. Forty of our crew leaders have arrived from the initial attack ranks, the unit crew ranks.”

The B.C. Forest Service will have 2,500 crew members stationed across the province this season.