B.C., Okanagan saw significant drop in burned area this wildfire season

The B.C. Wildfire Service’s annual report shows sharp declines in losses due to wildfires locally and provincially.

The yearly summary said, as of Oct. 31, 2022, 1,758 wildfires had been detected in B.C., resulting in approximately 133,437 hectares being burned.

In the Kamloops Fire Centre, which includes Vernon and the Okanagan, there were 453 fires that burned about 25,006 hectares.

Comparatively, in the same time period in 2021, there were 1,642 fires across the province, but those burned 869,279 hectares of land.

The figures show that just 15 per cent of the terrain burned across B.C. in 2021 was lost to wildfires this past year.

In the Kamloops Fire Centre in 2021, there were 459 fires that scorched 497,497 hectares.

The area burned in the region that includes Vernon and the Okanagan in 2022 was approximately five per cent of the terrain lost to fires the year before.

The Wildfire Service attributes the significant decline in hectares lost to sufficient winter precipitation and a cool, wet spring.

However, the report noted sustained warm and dry weather extended the wildfire season into the fall, and new records were set in late August and mid-October for maximum number of fires detected per week compared to the past 20 years.

The report also stated 68 per cent of fires in B.C. this year were a result of lightning activity, adding only 11 per cent of all fires exceeded five hectares in size.