BC's facing the worst wildfire season ever and summer's not even half over
BC is not even halfway through the summer and already it’s been one of the most devastating forest fire seasons in the province’s history.
Since April 2023, the BC Wildfire Service reports that there have been 1,187 wildfires. As of mid-July, there are nearly 400 active wildfires burning in the province.
The total hectares burned so far this wildfire season is 1,393,510.688 hectares – a figure that’s hard to wrap your head around. It’s about 13,935 square kilometres. For reference, Vancouver Island is about 32,000 square kilometres, while Vancouver is around 115. So, an area more than 100 times the size of Vancouver has been scorched in BC so far this year.
BC Wildfire Service
According to a Provincial Wildfire Status Update on July 17, fire activity in the Prince George, Cariboo, and Northwest Fire Centres is challenging crews working hard to protect communities and critical infrastructure.
Federal assistance with wildfires
On Friday, July 14, Canadian Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair said that the federal government approved a request for the Canadian Armed Forces to assist firefighters and emergency management.
Firefighters and emergency management personnel in British Columbia are working tirelessly to manage the wildfires.
To aid their efforts, we have now approved a Request for Federal Assistance and we’re mobilizing resources from across federal departments and @CanadianForces.
— Bill Blair (@BillBlair) July 14, 2023
Bowinn Ma, BC minister of emergency management and climate readiness, made the request to Blair, saying that this fire season has been “one of the most challenging and persistent on record.”
According to Ma, the CAF will provide firefighting support, two helicopters, and a Hercules aircraft. CAF also deployed a reconnaissance team on Sunday based in Prince George to determine where and how they can best assist with response operations.
“Plans are underway to deploy the first company of soldiers from the Canadian Forces Base Edmonton to the Burns Lake area, in the Northwest Fire Centre, and the second to Vanderhoof, at the Prince George Fire Centre,” said Ma.
Now, these federal resources will join the 2,000 BC Wildfire Service personnel and the more than 350 international personnel from the US, Mexico, and New Zealand.
Forest fire effects felt in BC
Over the weekend aerial firefighting operations in the Bulkley Fire Zone were temporarily suspended due to a drone being operated in the vicinity of a wildfire. pic.twitter.com/WsAn0Kpqjj
— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) July 17, 2023
Forest fires in the province have had many consequences. The air quality across much of the province is poor due to smoke and particulate matter.
A total campfire ban is in place, highway access has been affected by wildfires, cutting off entire towns and leading to negative economic impacts. And, this month the province mourned the loss of a 19-year-old firefighter.
With half of the summer still left to go, British Columbians will want to conserve water to help and keep up to date with the latest wildfire information.
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