Finally! Rain is returning across B.C.

With rain and snow forecast for British Columbia, it's finally time to bid goodbye to the province's long dry spell.

Environment Canada is calling for just under 10 millimetres of rain in the Fraser Valley and about seven millimetres on parts of eastern Vancouver Island by early Saturday, but parched areas of the Sunshine Coast will have to wait a little longer for relief.

Rain is expected to continue through Saturday and into next week and shíshálh Nation Chief Warren Paull anticipates the Sechelt area could receive as much as 35 millimetres from the expected round of systems — but he said much more is needed.

While many have enjoyed the unusually warm September and October temperatures, the lack of precipitation that's drying up creeks, streams and lakes is a real cause for concern.

The District of Sechelt and the shíshálh Nation recently declared a state of local emergency due to the severe level of drought in effect in the region. 

In Metro Vancouver, lower-than-normal reservoir levels prompted officials to ask millions of residents and businesses to conserve water, as the last appreciable rain fell in Vancouver on Sept. 4.

Environment Canada meteorologists said the Interior mountain passes will see a dusting of snow.

Other parts of B.C., including Haida Gwaii, the Central Coast and the eastern Pacific Range, a swath of land stretching from north of Whistler to the Alaska border, are ranked at drought Level 4, and the dry conditions everywhere mean B.C.'s wildfire season drags on.

Wildfires still burning across B.C.

More than 200 active fires are still burning, including four suspected human-cased blazes sparked Wednesday and another on Thursday, along with two fires linked to lightning.

Wildfires in the Fraser Valley and E.C. Manning Provincial Park, as well as several large blazes in Washington state, were blamed for sending a thick, hazy blanket over most of the lower half of the province for several days, prompting Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories.

IQAir, the organization that posts global air quality ratings, listed Vancouver as having the fourth-worst air quality on the planet Thursday, just behind Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Beijing.

Metro Vancouver lifted its air quality advisory on Friday. 

Environment Canada still has advisories in place from the Fraser Valley through the Kootenays but has called for significant improvement through the day as winds help clear the smudgy skies.

IQAir had already ranked Vancouver, Portland and Seattle as among the cities with the best air quality by Friday.

Road safety

The return of the much-awaited rain also means slick roads and foggy windshields. 

Kate Harris, owner of a driving school on Vancouver Island, said nearly half of all crashes in B.C. happen between October and January.

Nearly 80 per cent of pedestrian-involved crashes, Harris said, take place at intersections.

"It's getting darker earlier; we're tired because the time change is coming up. We're busy, we're racing around trying to get everything fit in. And now is when we see all these crashes happen. That can all be prevented," Harris said. 

"We need to yield our right of way to keep everybody safe."

Pedestrians are recommended to wear reflective clothing and drivers and cyclists are advised to have bright headlights on to avoid most of these crashes. Road users are asked to pay close attention to their surroundings due to lower visibility. 

Drivers are encouraged to plan ahead and take a little bit of extra time to defrost windows and make sure their vehicle is safe before they get on the roads.

The ICBC website includes interactive tools that show crash maps by regions and intersections with most crashes involving pedestrians.