After a busy fire season, crews are now working to contain and extinguish the last of the wildfires in the region.

Jeanne Rucker, fire information officer with the Kamloops Fire Centre, said there are only five fires of note remaining in the region.

“There are fires that still have potential if we aren’t careful,” she said.

Big Dog, northwest of Lillooet, is estimated at 5,374 hectares and is 40 per cent contained. Ore Creek, at 3,392 hectares, is 25 per cent contained.

The Momich fire complex, which covers 4,273 hectares, is now 75 per cent contained.

The Notch Hill fire, at 2,844 hectares, and the fire southeast of Pritchard, at 2,200 hectares, are both fully contained.

Caution is still urged for those who are camping or using the back country.

“Although fall weather patterns are becoming more prevalent, our area continues to experience a lack of precipitation along with temperatures 10 degrees above normal,” Rucker said.

The fire season this year has been much busier than in the past.

There were 1,016 fires this year, burning a total of 52,775 hectares. Roughly three quarters of these were caused by lightning, with the rest caused by human activity.

In 2003, the worst fire season in recent years, there were 735 fires which covered 105,140 hectares. Of these, human activity was the cause in roughly two-thirds of the fires.

This year’s fire season had plenty of fire activity in July, earlier than normal.

“We do see our fire season starting earlier and ending later,” Rucker said.

Anyone who sees smoke or flames is urged to call 1-800-663-5555 or dial *5555 on most cellular networks to report a fire.