Depending on whom you speak to, the summer of 2008 will either be frighteningly close to the fiery summer of 2003 and the wildfires it wrought, or it will be about on par with an average forest-fire season, despite the dead wood left behind by the mountain pine beetle.

Many are pointing to the cool and wet spring we have just endured, one that gave growth spurts to all sorts of foilage.

The summer of 2003, locals will recall, was preceded by a similar spring.

In 2003, the heat arrived in July and stayed for a good two months. The heat this year arrived on the weekend and is expected to remain for at least the rest of this week.

And the heat is intense.

On Sunday, Kamloops Airport registered 39/2 C, which is about 102 degrees on the old Fahrenheit scale.

Those who don’t foresee a repeat of 2003 point to areas where the telltale red of a beetle infestation has turned grey, leaving far fewer branches and limbs, or “ladder fuel”, for flames to climb.

In any event, the onus remains on us to ensure a repeat of 2003 is not experienced.

The past few days have seen some small fires created, the most significant of which was sparked in the Fraser Canyon as a result of a vehicle fire.

In the past month, too many campfires were again abandoned, which will only add to the danger as July’s heat takes hold.

We can’t do much about lightning strikes but, with the vast majority of fires being he man-made variety, there is plenty we can do to restrict wildfires to those caused by a mercurial Mother Nature.