Environment Canada recently designated the 2023 wildfire season as the top weather story in Canada, which saw almost 90,000 hectares burned in the Coastal Fire Centre alone.
BC Wildfire Service says that between April 1 and Oct. 31, 2,245 wildfires were ignited and a total of 2,840,545 hectares of forest were burned in the province. That record is double the previous record of 1.35 million set in 2018.
Tens of thousands were also forced to evacuate their homes and hundreds of homes and structures were either lost or damaged.
In the Coastal Fire Centre, 365 fires burned up 89,750 hectares and five wildfires of note were recorded. That includes the Cameron Lake Bluffs wildfire that shut down Highway 4 between Parksville and Port Alberni, cutting off most access to the west coast.
Senior climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada David Phillips says the wildfires this year were the most obvious No. 1 weather story.
“The area burned, over half the countries in the world would fit in that area and still have scarred, burnt area left over,” said Phillips. “Take all the fires, the woodland burnt in the United States over the last five years and that still wouldn’t equate to what we burnt this year in Canada.”
He adds that we will likely expect to have more wildfires in the future, especially with the impacts of climate change.
“I think we should expect to see more wildfires, larger and burning more area,” said Phillips. “Lasting not just the hot summer, but a year, possibly.”
BC Wildfire Service says looking into 2024, they will continue to work with the province and other partners to create more resiliency and cooperation with communities and their expertise.
“Wildfire prevention and risk mitigation will remain a key focus for community protection, including that of critical infrastructure and special values,” said BC Wildfire Service.
