By Canadian Press

British Columbia’s record-breaking wildfire season, by the numbers

Jul 31, 2023 | 4:49 PM

British Columbia’s wildfire season is the most destructive on record, with more than 15,000 square kilometres of the province burned, surpassing the previous high of 13,543 square kilometres set in 2018.

Here are some statistics about the current season from the BC Wildfire Service website, as of 2:30 p.m. Pacific time, July 31.

Total area burned: 15,409 square kilometres

Fires currently burning: 361, including 13 fires of note

New fires in the past 24 hours: 28

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Out-of-control fires: 199

Total number of fires this season: 1,554

Causes of all fires: Lightning, 70.5 per cent; humans (deliberate and accidental), 24 per cent; unknown, 5.5 per cent.

Biggest single fire: Donnie Creek fire, northeastern B.C., 5,831 square kilometres. (unchanged on BCWS website since July 18) 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2023.

The Canadian Press