Temperatures in some parts of the Lower Mainland could crack the 30-degree mark

UPDATE 11:41 a.m.: Environment Canada has now issued a heat warning for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Sure it’s Monday but it’s also a great time to break out the beach umbrella!

The mercury is expected to hit 26 around Metro Vancouver today, while temperatures could climb above 30 degrees in the Fraser Valley, as a special weather statement from Environment Canada continues.

Conditions are expected to stick around until Wednesday.

The weather alert extends to a number of other regions, which has wildfire crews on alert.

“We’re expecting warm, dry, clear conditions across the province. And heading into next week we are expecting temperatures consistently to get very high across the province,” says Ryan Turcot with the BC Wildfire Service.

And even with rain for the first half of June, the next couple weeks could have a major impact on the province’s wildfire season.

“It’s pretty much a given that for the rest of the work week coming up, we’re going to see pretty hot and dry conditions. What we’re keeping an eye on right now is what the following week has in store. It’s still a little bit too early to forecast that super-accurately in advance but we are hoping to see a little bit more rain before June is over, because if you have a sustained-enough period of hot-and-dry weather, that can undo what the earlier June rains did,” says Turcot.

“You’ll hear us talk about the June rains every year. And basically the idea is, the more precipitation you receive throughout the month of June, the better the forests are heading into those core summer months, July and August, when fire risk tends to be the highest.”

Wildfire crews continue to battle a 25-hectare fire near the town of Mackenzie in the northeast part of the province.

Outreach teams with the Union Gospel Mission have been warning the city’s most vulnerable about the dangers of the heat and handing out water.

“Prolonged exposure to the heat can result in anything from sunburn to heat exhaustion to heat stroke. Those are very some concrete things that can happen to people on the street,” says Jeremy Hunka with the organization.

He says in the past, heat waves have been deadly in Vancouver.

The extended heat is also prompting an annual warning from police departments and the SPCA not to leave pets alone in hot cars.