What is a wildfire? BC Wildfire Service explains

As the annual wildfire season begins, the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) is clearing the air on its use of certain terms.

In a post to social media, the provincial service broke down the word ‘wildfire,’ saying it’s been sparking confusion in recent years.

BCWS says it’s heard from people who think a wildfire was invented by media writers, or is a fancy synonym for forest fires, or, by definition, can’t be human-caused, or must be burning ‘wildly’ out of control.

By its use, the service says a ‘wildfire’ can have many causes.

“The most common in B.C. is lightning, but other human causes include irresponsible open-burning, industrial activity, vehicles, trains and more.”

It argues that the word was not a recent invention made to stoke fear and has been in use for hundreds of years.

“According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest use of the word is in the Old English period, pre-1150. The word compounds two words: wild refers to the location, ‘living in a state of nature’ and fire refers to, well, fire, ‘combustion or burning.'”

BCWS says that definition should clear up that ‘wild’ does not refer to a lack of control over a wildfire.

“We use four stages of controls to classify wildfires. Whether they are out of control, being held, or out, they are still wildfires.”

Finally, the service says ‘wildfire’ encompasses a variety of fuel types, making it a more useful term than ‘forest fire.’

“It is called a wildfire no matter what it is burning, be it grass, timber, or muskeg.”

BCWS says it uses specific words to describe its work for clarity and common understanding.

If you want to know more about the language used by the BC Wildfire Service, you can check out the province’s online glossary of terms.