Cliff Chapman

Rancher Werner Stump said spring is usually a "season of optimism" for farmers in British Columbia, but worries linger after unprecedented drought last year and another dry season looming.

Canada's current wildfire season is devastating evidence of the effects of climate change, scientists say, but for some conspiracy theorists, the thousands of square kilometres of burnt ground isn't enough to convince them.

Rain and cooler temperatures in northeastern British Columbia will help suppression efforts for two out-of-control wildfires, but high temperatures forecast for later this week may pose a new threat, says a BC Wildfire Service spokesman.

Winds forecast to fan wildfires over the weekend in British Columbia are a "direct threat to life and property," a BC Wildfire Service official says.

Mounties are on the scene in Lytton, B.C., working to determine what caused a fire that destroyed much of the village and left two people dead.