More than a million hectares burned in 2024 BC wildfire season

With the end of the year only a couple of days away, officials are reflecting on what was another busy wildfire season across the province.

Since April 1, 2024, more than 1.08 million hectares of land have been burned from 1,688 wildfires across BC.

More than 70% of those fires are believed to have been caused by lightning, while a majority of the rest were caused by human activity.

As of Nov. 1, the cost of wildfire suppression for the season was $621 million.

Wildfires in 2023 and 2024 have burned 10% of the land base in the Prince George Fire Centre region, which is more than the previous 60 years combined.

In 2024, 51 evacuation orders impacted 4,100 properties and 112 evacuation alerts affected 11,600 properties.

"People's lives are increasingly being impacted by the effects of climate change and we must be proactive in how we prepare for climate-driven emergencies," said Kelly Greene, minister of emergency management and climate readiness.

"We have applied lessons learned from the 2023 wildfires by introducing flexible supports for evacuees, making it easier for people to receive those supports and improving preparedness tools. Our first priority is to ensure that people and communities have the tools and resources they need to stay safe during emergencies."

Throughout the year, upgrades were made to firefighting equipment and fire-camp infrastructure, improving the safety and well-being of wildland firefighters.

“Additionally, the BC Wildfire Service purchased and used more on-the-ground firefighting equipment, such as pumps, fire-camp equipment and safety gear, as well as medical and hygiene equipment,” stated a news release.

Other milestones officials shared include the use of software to better predict how wildfires behave, the implementation of night-vision imaging systems on active fires, improved preparedness tools such as the redevelopment of the BC Wildfire mobile and web application, and the announcement of a wildfire training centre to be established at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops.

"I want to thank the hardworking members of the BC Wildfire Service who put their lives on the line every day to protect British Columbians and their communities from the devastating impact of wildfires," said Ravi Parmar, minister of forests.

"Their dedication and bravery are nothing short of extraordinary, especially as wildfire seasons grow longer and more intense, putting greater pressure on people, ecosystems and communities."

More information on the 2024 BC wildfire season summary can be found online at this link.