B.C. Has Already Used Up Nearly 90 Per Cent of Its Wildfire Budget

It’s only June, but the wildfires across B.C. have already used the majority of the provincial wildfire budget.

To date, wildfires have cost $56.5 million of the $63 million the provincial government has allocated to fire costs for the season, which begins April 1^st. This cost so far represents about 89.68 per cent of the proposed budget.

Cisco Road fire near Lytton. (Photo Credit: BC Wildfire Management Branch)

However, that doesn’t mean that the BC Wildfire Management Branch can’t access more funds. “When actual costs exceed the direct fire budget allocation, the Wildfire Management Branch has statutory authorization to receive additional funds from the government’s contingency funds,” said Ryan Turcot, provincial fire information officer.

The BC Wildfire Management Branch has dealt with 502 fires to date this season, about half of which were lightning-caused and half human-caused. The average in the last 10 years for total fires responded to at about this time is closer to 380, so this season has been busier than usual so far.

Particularly, the branch has seen an increase in lightning-caused fires. So far, they’ve responded to about 225 fires that were lightning-caused compared to the ten year average of about 90. “Really, the only year within the last 10 or 11 years we’ve seen more fires that are caused by lightning would have been in 2009, where we responded to 312 lightning-caused fires,” said Turcot.

The Elaho wildfire near Pemberton. (Photo Credit: BC Wildfire Management Branch)

The Prince George Fire Centre has spent the most to date with just shy of $12 million, or roughly 3.5 times more than any of the others so far. They’ve dealt with the most wildfires so far, 152, as well as both of the largest fires so far this season: the Little Bobtail Lake Fire at 25,569 hectares and the Dunedin River Fire at 18,000 hectares.

The Kamloops Fire Centre, which covers the Central Interior including the Okanagan-Thompson area, has responded to 83 fires to date with a total cost of roughly $3.4 million.

Little Bobtail Fire near Prince George. (Photo Credit: BC Wildfire Management Branch)

“Especially with the increase of lightning-caused fire activity we’ve seen this year, it just comes to show that even one people-caused fire is one too many,” concluded Turcot. “Every time a human-caused fire comes, that diverts resources away from the lightning-caused fires, which obviously aren’t preventable, but the human-caused ones are.”

As a result, the BC Wildfire Management Branch is urging people to be smart while out camping or in the bush. To report smoke, flames, or an unattended open fire, call 1-800-663-5555 or *5555 on a cell phone.

Cisco Road Fire. (Photo Credit: BC Wildfire Management Branch)