BC records one of the lowest human-caused wildfire seasons in 70+ years

The province is cautiously patting British Columbians on the back after BC experienced one of the lowest human-caused wildfire seasons since 1950.

However, we are not out of the woods yet since the summer isn’t over. 

There have been 1,355 wildfires recorded since April across BC, which has resulted in 43,000 hectares of area burned.

This is lower than the province’s 20-year average this time of year, Forests Minister Katrine Conroy said Thursday. 

“By comparison to last year over the same time period, we had responded to 1,562 fires with 865,298 hectares burned reflecting last year’s extreme conditions,” Conroy said.

Of the wildfires recorded since April this year, 93% of them are out, under control, or being held.

You might also like:
• More forest fires and air quality advisories in place as BC's heatwave drags on
• BC's heatwave leaves wildfires in its wake
• New wildfire breaks out near Lytton, the BC town that burned down last year

Neal McLoughlin, superintendent of Predictive Service, explained the reason the province is seeing less area burned could be due to a list of reasons. And sometimes the reasons may seem in conflict with one another — especially since we’ve had such hot and dry conditions.

However, he said the first factor that contributed to less area burned this year was that the season started later than usual.

“We had above normal over winter precipitation, cooler spring temperatures, late snow melt that upper elevations and an overall late start to the fire season,” he listed.

“In July and August we did see this repeating pattern of high-pressure ridges followed by upper lows bringing new lightning starts, but in general the weather pattern produced light winds and stable atmospheres and those play a big role in limiting fire growth.”

What’s in store for September?

McLaughlin said “our Pacific Ocean temperatures remain three to five degrees Celsius above normal” which can translate into warmer than normal temperatures through September for most of the province.

Vancouver Island and southern BC will likely be most affected and feel higher than above normal temperatures. But the northern BC border could also feel the effects. 

He notes Environment Climate Change Canada has expressed concern for fall weather patterns that bring strong winds, which have so far been limited and been a key part of keeping BC fire sizes smaller this year.

McLaughlin and Conroy added they are both thankful for the public’s vigilance this fire season and are encouraging British Columbians to keep up the great work through the month of September.