Wildfires Wreck Havoc in our Province
Last year, wildfires pockmarked the province occasionally during the summer. This year, there have thousands of fires blanketing the province with smoke and flames. At times, the sun has even turned red from the immense amount of smoke in the air. The wildfires have summoned firefighters from far corners of the world, including New Zealand. At this time, there are 159 wildfires burning in BC. Since April 1, 2017, there have been a total of 1,217 wildfires in the province that have burned approximately 1,163,210 hectares. To put that measurement into perspective, the fires cover more area than Jamaica and have destroyed more forest than the size of Prince Edwards Island. Not only this, but as of September 8th, the province has spent more than $198 000 000 on the fires.
Wildfires are common events in BC. The government of British Columbia has a dedicated wildfire evacuation, statistics, and history section on their website. A cursory glance at this reveals the extreme impact wildfires have every year in BC. Only three months after Vancouver’s incorporation on June 13, 1886, a fire ravaged the new city’s 400 buildings, leaving only two of the buildings standing. In 2003, 33 050 people were evacuated, some twice, due to the Okanagan Mountain Park Wildfire. The wildfire destroyed or damaged 238 homes and ruined part of the historic Myra Canyon. From 2007-2016, almost $2 billion has been spent combating wildfires. This is only a glimpse of the devastation wildfires have made and are still creating in BC.