B.C. wildfire season sets record as hundreds of fires burn

British Columbia’s disastrous wildfire season has set a new record for the total area burned in a year, with almost 14,000 square kilometres scorched and hundreds of fires burning across the province.

The B.C. Wildfire Service website says 13,935 square kilometres have been burned since April 1, surpassing the previous record of 13,543 square kilometres set in 2018.

But there are still months to go in this year’s season and the service says there are almost 400 fires currently burning.

Flames from the Donnie Creek wildfire burn along a ridge top north of Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada, Sunday, July 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

There have been 1,186 fires so far this year, suggesting the average size of the fires in 2023 has been 84 per cent larger than in 2018.

Dozens of properties have been put on evacuation order or alert in the Kootenay region in B.C.’s southeast after new wildfires near Cranbrook temporarily shut the city’s airport.

Sophie Wilkinson, an assistant professor in environmental management at Simon Fraser University, says the season is being aggravated by the severe drought in many areas of the province.

Her comments come after Canada’s Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair announced last week that federal assistance, including military resources, were being mobilized to help B.C. in its wildfire fight.

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B.C.’s Ministry of Emergency Management previously said two military reconnaissance teams were deployed in the province Sunday, with a “land force team” arriving at the ministry’s emergency operations centre in Prince George and an air force team bound for the BC Wildfire co-ordination centre in Kamloops.

The Canadian Armed Forces confirms more soldiers, helicopters, and a Hercules plane are poised for deployment.

“Although military aid has not been common in the past, it will become increasingly common because the severity of both British Columbia’s and Canada’s wildfire seasons is increasing because of climate change,” explained Wilkinson.

As troops arrive in the province, a working group comprised of members of Public Safety Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces, and B.C. emergency management and wildfire officials met on Monday to focus on deploying the federal resources.

Following the meeting between federal and provincial officials, on Tuesday, B.C. Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Bowinn Ma provided more information about how resources were being deployed.

“The Canadian Armed Forces will be directly involved with fighting fires, and will provide two helicopters and one Hercules aircraft for mobility and logistical tasks, including evacuation of isolated communities, and planning and co-ordination support,” she explained.

Ma says in addition to the teams deployed Sunday, “plans are underway to deploy the first company of soldiers” to the Burns Lake and Vanderhoof areas.

“The Canadian Coast Guard will support the management, operations and administrative activities of the BC Wildfire Service’s incident command posts. The coast guard will also provide a maritime staging facility for firefighting equipment and personnel, two helicopters to transport firefighters and equipment to remote locations, and assistance to remote coastal communities if access becomes restricted,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ma sys Indigenous Services Canada is working closely with the B.C. government, First Nations’ Emergency Services Society of B.C., and the First Nations Health Authority to ensure First Nations have the support they need to respond to evacuations, if necessary.

The federal resources complement the resources that have been brought in from other countries, including Australia, Mexico, the U.S., and New Zealand.