VICTORIA (CP) -- Cool, wet weather has allowed fire officials in British Columbia to lift a couple of evacuation alerts and get a handle on hundreds of wildfires.
Fire Information officer Cynthia Mann said Monday fire activity has dropped all across the province since the cooler weather arrived over the weekend.
``Because of that we're seeing less new fire starts,'' she said. ``In fact, we've had none reported today and as of yesterday there were only five new ones.''
There now are 535 fires, but less than 200 require active fire suppression, she said. The weather is allowing firefighters to begin mopping up some blazes.
Mann said the forecast calls for cool conditions and a little more rain for the next few days. That will allow the forest service to begin releasing some out-of-province firefighters, she said.
There are 310 out-of-province personnel now in British Columbia, among about 2,000 firefighters in total.
Meanwhile, evacuation alerts were lifted this weekend for residents affected by the Whitecap fire, near Lillooet, and the Kotchco fire, east of Fort Nelson.
