Some wildfire evacuation orders rescinded near Slocan Lake, B.C.

Hundreds of British Columbianswere able to return home as some wildfire-related evacuation orders were lifted Tuesday, but B.C.fire officials warn that rain will soon be replaced by more heat going into midweek.

The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) saysrain and cooler temperatures the past week have made it easier to quell fires, thoughfirefightersremain wary of wind and thunderstorms.

"While cooler weather and rain has given us an advantagein many parts of the province, we're urging people to stay prepared,"B.C. Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said at a news conference Tuesday.

"Hot weather will return this summer."

WATCH | Heat expected to return as firefighters tackle B.C. blazes:

Heat to return after rain assists B.C.s wildfire fight, officials say

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Duration 2:22

Fire crews in the interior have welcomed the cooler weather and rain this week. That weather is prompting officials to lift the campfire ban for some areas across the province. But as Brady Strachan reports, they are preparing for a return to hot, dry weather expected this weekend.

More showers and cooler weatherwere in the forecastfor some parts of the provincethroughout Monday,giving relief from recent hotter and drier conditions that drove up fire intensity across B.C.

But a hot, dry spell is expected to return later this week.Cliff Chapman, the director of provincial operations with theB.C. Wildfire Servicetold reporters he expects the province's south to see little to no rain for up to two weeks.

Approximately 1,350 people remain under an evacuation order, primarily in the Kootenays, according to the province. About 2,800 moreare under evacuation alert.

At Tuesday's news conference, Emergency Preparedness and Climate Readiness Minister Bowinn Ma urged British Columbians to stay on alert.

"Despite cooler weather I want to encourage everyone to continue being vigilant and prepared," Ma said. "The wildfire situation can change quickly, and we may see more fires as temperatures warm up again in the coming days."

By Tuesday night, the BCWSlistedjust over 340 active wildfires. Itsaysaround 50 blazeswere declared out in the preceding 24 hours, and only two new fires started in the same timeframe.Over1,500 personnel were on the ground fighting fires, according to the service.

Evacuation orders, alerts near Slocan Lakedowngraded

More than 650 properties and close to 200parcel identifiers have been evacuated as of Tuesday afternoon due to wildfires near Slocan Lake, according to theRegional District of Central Kootenay(RDCK).

The entire Village of Slocan,home to around 380 people, remainunder evacuationorder as several out-of-control wildfires burn nearby.Two of those, the Aylwin Creek and and Komonko Creek wildfires, are regarded as wildfires of note meaningthey are highly visibleor pose a potential threat to public safety.

But the district downgraded the evacuation order for 185 properties in the Village of Silverton, a community around20 kilometres north of Slocan, Tuesday afternoon.This change also includes17 properties in nearby Electoral Area H.

Silverton Mayor Tanya Gordon told CBC News Tuesday evening that she is feeling "pretty good." Her community was evacuated last week, and she herself fled north to New Denver.

"I just got home, unpacked some bags," she said. "It's just a great feeling."

Gordon added thatSilverton is still under alert, but residentsare nowfeeling"a little bit more at ease."

The RDCK has also rescinded an evacuation orderand an alertforhundreds of properties north of Silvertonto Rosebery. It includes the alert for421 properties in the Village of New Denver, which is around five kilometres from Silverton.

Ralston said the response to theSlocanLake wildfires includes heavy equipment, aircraft, and more than 100 municipal firefighters.

As of Tuesday night, Highway 6 along SlocanLake was closed in both directions fora nearly 40-kilometre stretch, from around 11 kilometres south of Slocan to New Denver, according to DriveBC.

Further north, Highway 16 remains closed east of the Mount Robson Visitor Centre due to wildfire activity around Jasper, Alta., the traffic service said.

Four other wildfires of note continued to burn in B.C. Tuesday.

Two in southeastern B.C., the Dogtooth Forest Service Road fire near Golden and the Argenta Creek fire north of Kaslo, were burning across about 54square kilometres and 147square kilometres, respectively as of Tuesday evening.

In the Cariboo Fire Centre, the Antler Creek wildfire was measured atnearly 143 square kilometres.

Meanwhile, the Shetland Creek wildfireabout 70 kilometres west of Kamloops grew to nearly 250 square kilometres.

The BCWShas established an area restriction orderwithin the vicinity of this blaze, which took effect Tuesday at noon. It will stay in force until at least noon on Aug. 13 or until the order is rescinded, which means that only firefighters and authorized personnel are allowed to enter that area.

Warm, dry weather to return

Environment Canada meteorologist Ken Dosanjhtold CBC'sDaybreak Norththe cooler and wetter weather that has closed out the month is a rare "blip in the road."

He said showers and cooler weather are forecastin the Prince George areathrough Wednesday. But he said much of B.C. will see temperatures return to up to 5 C above normal by the end of the week.

"Today and [Wednesday]has an unsettled flavour to it," Dosanjh said. "Thursdayonwards ... a ridge of high pressure will build over the province, which will return our summer drying of the landscape."

According to Natural Resources Canada,extremely hot temperatures and long periods of drought and dry weather are expected to occur more frequently with climate change.

Human-caused changes to Earth's climatehave also been found to increase lightning activity a major cause of wildfires. In one study, researchers estimate that in the U.S., each degree that average air temperature rises will increase the numberof lightning strikes by about 12 per cent.

The BCWS estimates 90 per cent of currently active wildfires have been started by lightning.

Campfire ban lifting in north

Effective noon Thursday, the BCWS is rescinding the campfire ban in the northern half of the province. Ralston said cooler and wetter weather in the region has reduced wildfire risk, but that may change as hotter weather returns.

In the Prince George and Northwest Fire Centres, residents will once again be able to burn fires less than half a metre tall and half a metre wide, provided there are fuel breaks around the fire, a way to put the fire out is on hand, and the fire isn't left unattended.

Fireworks, sky lanterns and burn barrels are still banned, as are larger fires.

This year's response

According to Ralston, more than 1,500 wildfire fighters have been deployed across the province, joined by municipal firefighters.

He said firefighters from Australia, New Zealand and Alaska have joined the B.C. response, and Ontario and Yukon-based services have also sent support. Other jurisdictions, including Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and the United States, have provided the BCWS with firefighting equipment.

Ralston said this year, the government has tried to get more contracts for firefighting aircraftearlier in the season. About 340 airtanker missions in which airplanes drop water or fire retardant on fires have been flown this year.

That'smore than half the average number of missions the BCWSdeploys annually.

Ma said the BCWSwill continue to support Albertan responders fighting the wildfire complex that destroyed about 30 per cent of the townsite in the resort municipality of Jasper, Alta., last week. Already, she said, the service has sent firefighters and structure protection equipment.

"Wildfires are unfortunately not new to us, but neither is helping out people in need," she said.