Over one million hectares of forested land burned in BC the summer of 2018

It is only the end of August, and the numbers for the Western Canadian province of British Columbia are shocking: More than 1,2 million hectares of forested land has burned in this year´s wildfire season -  the worst on record in terms of hectares burned.

According to the B.C. Wildfire Service, 1,250,383 hectares have burned across the province since April 1, which is more than last year’s record of 1,216,053 hectares.

Before the last two summers, the province’s worst wildfire season occurred in 1958 when 855,968 hectares burned.

The total cost of fighting this year’s fires is $350.1 million Canadian dollars, (About 200 million Euros or around 250 million USD) reports the Canadian TV network Global News.

While more hectares have burned this year than last year, many of the fires have occurred in more remote locations, leading to less property damage and fewer evacuations.

“This year has been quite an interesting year just for the fact that all six of our regional fire centers are very busy, so in terms of resourcing that has definitely been a bit of a challenge just because the fires are so spread out,” Kyla Fraser with the B.C. Wildfire Service said.

The service was tracking more than 50 “wildfires of note” — fires large enough or close enough to communities to be of concern — in every corner of B.C.

On Wednesday, the B.C. government extended its wildfire-driven state of emergency through Sept. 12.

Cover photo above: The Boundary Wildfire. Photo by Parks Canada / Ryan Peruniak