The first two Peace Region wildfires of the season are under control near Moberly Lake, the B.C. Wildfire Service says.
Both are believed to be human-caused, but fire information officer Amanda Reynolds said it was too early to tell exactly what led the fires to spread.
The larger of the two topped out at about 59 hectares, before the wildfire service deemed it fully contained and under control. It was discovered on April 2 about a kilometre north of the Pioneer Road.
The smaller fire, about 20 hectares in size at its largest point, was spotted April 1 near the Boucher Road.
Initial attack crews stationed near Chetwynd were the first to respond and contain the fires.
Reynolds added that ground crews will check in on the fire periodically to ensure that it has been fully extinguished.
Forecasters indicated in late March that the warmer winter could contribute to drier-then-normal conditions this spring.
According to chief fire information officer Kevin Skrepnek, the B.C. Wildfire Service uses snow pack information, which is tracked by the provincial River Forecast Centre, as a general indicator of how intense a fire season might be.
The less snow, the earlier the melt and the quicker things dry up — leaving the terrain more prone to fires.
"For lots of northern B.C. it is drier than normal," Skrepnek said in February. Fort St. John experienced the eighth-driest winter on record this year, according to Environment Canada.
While similar historic data is not kept for Dawson Creek, records show the winter in that area was even drier, with the city receiving only 23.3 milimetres of precipitation December through to February, compared to the 30-year average of 69.9 milimetres.
But how this effects the potential for a busy wildfire season can change in a hurry, Skrepnek said.
"Fire weather is a bit fickle," he added. "Short-term weather has a huge effect on how things can go. A little bit of rain can really hit the reset switch if it's been dry for a little while."
