British Columbia experienced the worst wildfire season in provincial history in 2023.
The wildfire season saw 2,245 wildfires which destroyed more than 2.84 million hectares, more than twice the previous worst year on record.
Of the wildfires on record in 2023, 72 per cent were natural-caused, 25 per cent were human-caused and three per cent had undetermined causes.
While the vast majority of the land burned was within the Prince George Fire Centre region, other areas were also affected.
The Kamloops Fire Centre’s coverage area, which includes the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys, saw 201,385 hectares of wildfire damage.
Evacuation orders were put in place as the McDougall Creek wildfire ravaged parts of West Kelowna.
Other fires burned near Peachland and near Keremeos.
Fires also burned in the Shuswap area, destroying or damaging more than 200 properties in that area. Help was later offered for Shuswap property owners affected by the wildfire season.
A campfire ban was put in place from June 8 to 16 and then from July 7 to 28.
The season brought back memories of the Okanagan Mountain Park fire of 2003, which also burned close to populated areas in the Okanagan Valley.
In addition to the destructive wildfire season in British Columbia, Canada also set a record for the worst national wildfire season on record. On June 26, wildfire statistics showed showed 76,129 square kilometres destroyed by wildfires across Canada. Previously, Canada’s worst wildfire season had been 1989.