The long spell of hot and dry weather manifested itself in the highest number of wildfires in British Columbia’s recently recorded history.

So far the provincial government has spent in excess of 100 million dollars to fight these wildfires which at present total 115 (these are only the fires larger than 10 hectares) and to date have destroyed 279,265 hectares of land.

Over 80 per cent of wildfires are believed to be human caused.

Given the education and public warnings about the cause of wildfires it stuns me how ignorant people still are.

Humans are not the only ones that suffer from wildfires and the effect it has on industry and the health of people living in the path of the smoke.

Those clouds can linger like thick fog for days and weeks over towns, cities and villages.

Wildfires cause untold damage to wildlife, too.

A few days ago I came across a haunting image on the internet, taken by a wildfire fighter.

The image showed a small herd of female elk standing out in the open; behind them you could see a wall of tall flames devouring the forest.

All the elk looked back toward the fire where in all likelihood their offspring became victims of the flames.

This time of year it is not unusual to see elk, deer, bears and moose in company of young and will stay with them at all times.

However, when danger becomes a matter of life and death, mothers will switch to self-preservation mode and abandon the young since they are not yet strong enough to keep up with them.

Wild birds such as eagles, ospreys, and the endangered great horned owl fare no better; they abandon their nests and leave their young behind.

A wildfire kills thousands of animals and robs them of their habitat, food sources and shelter.

Besides the devastation of wildfires the hot weather, combined with the low snowpack we had last winter has caused many lakes and river systems to be at an all-time low.

When the water levels drop below a certain depth the temperatures rise and oxygen depletes.

This in turn kills off fish.

The low water level is currently so severe in some areas that the authorities have issued a total fishing ban on some rivers and streams in an effort to maintain the survival of the remaining fish.

We all have to do our part to prevent wildfires and conserve as much water as possible.

The best ways we can help is by strictly observing fire bans and never discarding cigarette butts into nature at any time — nor any garbage for that matter.

Be vigilant at all times of smoke columns and report them immediately.

The sooner a fire can be attended to the better the chances are that it will not burn out of control.

Conserve water as much as you can and strictly observe local water use restrictions.