2018 just became the worst wildfire season on record in BC

Aug 30 2018, 10:17 pm

British Columbia’s 2018 wildfire season has officially become the worst year on record.

Yesterday, the province formally extended the state of emergency to Wednesday, September 12, an additional two weeks.

Earlier this morning, provincial stats were updated to show that an estimated total of 12,810-sq-km had been burned since April 1, 2018.

The updated totals surpass the 2017 numbers, showing 12,160-sq-km burned over the 2017 fiscal year.

wildfire

@CanadaWildfire/Twitter

Not only has more area been burned over the past season but nearly 700 more fires have been started. To date, the 2018 season has seen a total 0f 2,015 fires started, the previous year saw an estimated total of 1,353.

2017’s wildfire season also included 41% of fires caused by humans and 57% caused by lightning, with total damages costing the province $568M.

Final statistics regarding the source of fires and the cost spent so far have not been made public as of yet, however, it’s safe to assume the numbers will be similar and the cost will be higher.

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