It is official, for the second straight year the wildfire season has become the worst in B.C history, roaring past last summer’s record as far as hectares burned.
Provincial Fire Information Officer Ryan Turcott says there was a big jump in the number of hectares burning being reported yesterday to what they can report today.
“The B.C Wildfire Service has now responded to over 2,011 wildfires, which collectively have burned 1,250,283 hectares of land.”
He says the new number is not due to any kind of explosive fire growth but rather a more accurate assessment now that the wildfire smoke has cleared out offering a better view of the situation.
Turcott says while the weather has become more of a help than a hindrance the fire season is far from over.
“It is going to take a prolonged period of precipitation to bring any meaningful reprieve to the fire situation. We certainly have at least a couple more busy weeks ahead of us.”
There were 11 new fire starts in the last 24 hours.
Last year’s wildfire season, now the second worst on record, burning one-point-two-million hectares.