The cool weather that struck northeast British Columbia last week likely didn't please most Peace Region residents who saw July snow around Wonowon and Pink Mountain on Thursday, but fire crews managing wildfires in the northeast corner of the province were certainly happy with the low temperatures and precipitation.

An information bulletin issued by the Prince George Fire Centre on Friday, July 12 stated the inclement weather had allowed the Wildfire Management Branch of the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (FLNRO) to wrap up their response to several of the wildfires in the region, reducing the number of active fires in the Prince George Fire Centre to just four.

Last week saw 16 new, small wildfires in the region, but the Fire Centre noted they didn't pose any risk to structures.

Just one of those fires was the result of human activities.

"We have had 123 fires and burned 2,136 hectares so far this year," said Dustin Eno, a fire information officer with the Prince George Fire Centre.

The majority of that activity has been in the Fort Nelson Zone.

"Last year at this time we had had 137 fires and burned 7,467 hectares," he added.

Wildfires can be a concern for natural resource industry companies that routinely work in areas where fires tend to occur, as they can adversely impact air quality around work sites and encroach on facilities such as natural gas processing plants.

The White Spruce Creek fire, the largest wildfire of the 2012 season, which grew to encompass an almost 24,000 hectare area east of Fort Nelson, led to evacuation orders and area restrictions that had an affect on natural gas industry operations in that region.

"With the amount of moisture this year, the fire risk is low and has not posed a threat to our operations in [Farrell Creek]," said Jon Jung, superintendent of Talisman Energy's operations in the Fort St. John area, referring to the company's natural gas project near Hudson's Hope.

A pair of forest fires that started in that area earlier this spring didn't cause any concern for Talisman.

The fires have since been extinguished.

"However, in 2012 we did have a [wildfire] in the region of our Farrell Creek Processing Facility," said Jung, noting that Talisman kept in contact with the FLNRO throughout the event to stay on top of the situation.

"In the event of a wild fire encroaching on our operation, we do have contingency plans in place to protect our people and assets, as well as prevent any risk to the public and the environment with respect to our facilities," he added.

"Talisman's operations in northeast B.C. have not been affected so far by any forest fires [this year]."

"So far this year, most of our fires have either been very small or have been in remote areas. So, there has been limited concern," said Eno.

"When fires happen within the general area of forestry or oil and gas infrastructure, we maintain regular contact with the companies, organizations and individuals who could be affected."

By far the largest wildfire of 2013 at this point is the 1,000-hectare Vents River fire approximately 30 kilometres west of Liard River.

That fire has been burning since June 23.

Current management of that wildfire is what the Fire Management Branch calls modified response, which means the fire is being allowed to burn to realize its ecological benefits including improving soil, removing fuel and creating a firebreak against the spread of future fires.

Ultimately, the cool, wet weather of last week may have only been a temporary reprieve for fire crews with warm, dry weather returning this week, as the low pressure system that has been hovering over the region gives way to a high pressure system.