Although there were nearly 2,000 wildfires burning in British Columbia during the 2015 season, last year’s season experienced larger and more aggressive wildfires, leaving the province with a $298 million bill.
According to the province, just over 300,000 hectares of land was ravaged this year, and about $277,908,183 was spent on fire suppression efforts.
Out of the 1,823 wildfires sparked in 2015 thus far, 573 were human-caused and were therefore preventable. The human-caused fires burned an estimated total of 57,003 hectares of land.
By comparison, 2014 marked the third most active wildfire season in the province’s history, burning about 360,000 hectares of land and garnering a nearly $300 million bill.
A total of 1,455 wildfires were sparked in 2014 and 1,196 out-of-province personnel were brought in to assist with suppression efforts.
Over 4,500 people were affected by evacuation orders, with the largest evacuation taking place in West Kelowna, thanks to the Smith Creek wildfire.
On Tuesday, Premier Christy Clark publicly thanked the BC Wildfire Service crews.
“It takes a special kind of courage to walk towards a fire, armed only with an axe and a can of gas. British Columbia owes a debt to BC Wildfire Service staff and crews for all the long hours, dedication, and bravery they showed during the 2015 fire season. They kept a lot of people safe, and prevented a lot of families from losing their homes,” said Premier Clark.
This year, the province worked closely with our neighbours to the south, as several wildfires burned thousands of hectares of land along the Canada-U.S. border.
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