As the summer season hits its peak, B.C. is starting to feel the usual wildfire anxiety. At the time of this writing, the B.C. Wildfire Service lists 19 active wildfires in B.C., most of which are currently under control, with five out of control. The fire requires a “modified response” by fireteams due to the difficult terrain and is burning near Lillooet at a size of nearly 50 hectares.
The most significant contributor to the increase of wildfires seen in B.C. over the recent years is climate change. The Canadian Climate Institute explained that while the number of wildfires remains about the same, their intensity, expanse, and duration all increased with climate change.
The B.C. Wildfire Service’s seasonal outlook points to warmer-than-normal conditions across much of the province, with drought conditions already affecting regions such as the Chilcotin, Lower Thompson, Okanagan, Vancouver Island, and the Northeast. When drought sets in, even when the area experiences rain, the land is still greatly susceptible to fires.
So far, this season does not appear to have as many destructive numbers of fires as previous years. The 2023 season, for example, became one of the worst wildfire seasons in the province’s recorded history, burning millions of hectares and forcing mass evacuations. In comparison, the current number of active fires is still sitting at a relatively low 19. However, experts are warning that the danger is not only about how many fires are burning today, but is heavily reliant on how much rain there is in the later half of the season.
Wildfires also inordinately affect Indigenous peoples, who are impacted by over 42 per cent of wildfire evacuations, with 80 per cent of wildfires having occurred on Indigenous territory. Many First Nations communities are located in areas more susceptible to fires, where evacuation can be more difficult and emergency access may be limited. Fires can threaten homes, cultural sites, important local species, and relationships to land. When fires spread and evacuations are called for, this further compounds years of colonial abuses.
While only making up 4.9 per cent of the population, Indigenous people in B.C. are evacuated at a higher rate, and the conditions of that evacuation are often poor. In an article analyzing and interviewing Indigenous peoples within the evacuee system, researchers found that Indigenous experiences ranged from inadequate housing to racism, which negatively affected their experience, and that a community-based tailored evacuation plan was received more positively.
Indigenous knowledge also provided an effective solution to the increasing wildfire problem, which included cultural burning, the practice of using controlled burns to better protect against future wildfires. This practice has been historically used by many Indigenous communities across the province, and helped keep the area safe from serious wildfires. In 1874 the colonial government passed the Bush fire act banning cultural burns, but the practice is slowly returning.
The B.C. Wildlife Federation also practices and encourages cultural burning and prescribed burns, and works together with Indigenous communities to both burn and train. Bringing back cultural burning and supporting Indigenous-led fire stewardship has helped shift B.C. away from a fire-suppression-only approach and toward living more safely with fire.
Wildfire awareness starts with preparation. People should follow local fire bans, avoid open burning when restrictions are in place, properly extinguish campfires where they are allowed, and report smoke or flames immediately.
B.C. residents can report wildfires by calling 1-800-663-5555 or 5555 from a cellphone. Households should also prepare grab-and-go bags, know their evacuation routes, and monitor official sources such as the B.C. Wildfire Service dashboard, EmergencyInfoBC, DriveBC, and local government alerts.
