Officials say a normal snowpack in some areas of the province that have been charred by wildfires could still mean a heightened risk of spring flooding.

Hydrologist Jonathan Boyd with the BC River Forecast Centre was talking about parts of the Middle Fraser, like areas near Cache Creek and Loon Lake.

“The textbook studying, based on recent fires and then a snowpack and then a melt associated with high flows is that if there has been a fire, you’ll likely see a more rapid melt of the snow. Just because there isn’t the tree cover, you may also see a slightly higher snowpack itself. And if it’s more rapid, it’ll also have peak flows a little bit more.”

As of March 1st, the Middle Fraser snowpack was one per cent below normal on average, but Boyd says that’s the average and not the exact reading at automated weather stations across the region.

Meanwhile, Boyd says the North and South Thompson are at their highest snowpack levels in 21 years.