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2018 British Columbia wildfires

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2018 British Columbia wildfires
Date(s)Evacuations:
___ – Still In Effect, 2018
Provincial state of emergency: August 15, 2018 – September 7, 2018
LocationBritish Columbia, Canada
Statistics
Burned area1,330,324[1] hectares (3,287,300 acres) as of September 8, 2018[1]
Land useForest and residential
Impacts
DeathsUnknown
Non-fatal injuriesUnknown
Structures destroyed~50 [2]
DamageUnknown
Ignition
CauseLightning and man made
Wildfires over British Columbia and northern Washington on August 8

By the end of June, 2018, there had been more than 560 wildfires in British Columbia.[3]

The Comstock Lake fire was discovered on June 21, and was caused by lightning. By July 6, it had grown to 27.5 square kilometres (10.6 sq mi) and was not fully contained.[4] At one point over 200 personnel were fighting the fire complex.[5]

The Tugwell Creek fire near Sooke grew to 85 hectares (210 acres), 10% contained by July 4.[6] The fire threatened millions of honeybees at Tugwell Creek Honey Farm and Meadery. It was reported as fully contained on July 9.[7]

The Shovel Fire, started on July 27, has burned 86,397 hectares (213,490 acres) so far, and is still active as of August 20. Thick smoke has harmed efforts to contain the fire.[8]

A human-caused fire at Nanaimo Lakes, discovered on July 1, reached 14.5 hectares by July 4.[6]

A total of 1,994 wildfires have burned 971,103 hectares (2,399,650 acres) of land in 2018 as of August 24.[9]

As of August 28, initial estimates put 2018 as the largest burn-area in a British Columbia wildfire season[1], surpassing the historic 2017 wildfire season (1,216,053 total hectares)[10].

Largest fires in 2018
Ranking Fire Size Date discovered Date contained Ref
1 Tweedsmuir Complex fire 301,549 hectares (745,140 acres) August 8 Still burning, 0% contained [11]
2 Johnny Creek Fire 156,775 hectares (387,400 acres) August 4 Still burning, 0% contained [12]
3 Alkali Lake Complex fire 121,215 hectares (299,530 acres) August 1 Still burning [13]
4 Lutz Creek Complex fire 100,799 hectares (249,080 acres) August 4 Still burning, 0% contained [12]
5 Shovel Lake fire 92,412 hectares (228,360 acres) July 27 Still burning, 20% contained [8]
6 Nadina Lake fire 86,767 hectares (214,410 acres) July 31 Still burning, 40% contained [14]
7 Verdun Mountain fire 47,610 hectares (117,600 acres) July 31 Still burning, 40% contained [15]
8 Silver Lake fire 23,042 hectares (56,940 acres) August 5 Still burning [16]
9 Tommy Lakes 21,795 hectares (53,860 acres) May 22 Still burning, 70% contained [17]
10 Island Lake fire 21,381 hectares (52,830 acres) August 1 Still burning [16]
11 Chutanli Lake fire 20,813 hectares (51,430 acres) August 1 Still burning [16]

Smoke

Wildfires caused severe smoke to cover much of British Columbia. It has impacted tourism and cancelled flights.[18]

Wildfires and smoke over British Columbia on August 20

The smoke has spread across Canada and as far as Ireland. [19]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Current Statistics". bcfireinfo.for.gov.bc.ca.
  2. ^ . CTV https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/british-columbia-wildfire-season-now-second-worst-in-province-s-history-1.4068551. Retrieved 28 August 2018. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ^ Tiffany Crawford (June 28, 2018), "B.C. Wildfire Service urges caution heading into long weekend", Vancouver Sun
  4. ^ Scott Brown (July 6, 2018), "B.C. Wildfire Map 2018: Updates on fire locations, evacuation alerts/orders", Vancouver Sun
  5. ^ MELANIE LAW (June 28, 2018), "BC Wildfire Service sets up operational camp near Comstock Lake Firev More than 200 personnel will camp on the Pelican Lake Service Road", Quesnel Cariboo Observer
  6. ^ a b Wildfire burning near Sooke explodes in size due to high winds, CTV News, July 4, 2018
  7. ^ CTV News twitter July 9, 2018
  8. ^ a b "Wildfires of Note". bcfireinfo.for.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  9. ^ "Current Statistics". bcfireinfo.for.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  10. ^ Service, BC Wildfire. "Wildfire Averages - Province of British Columbia". www2.gov.bc.ca.
  11. ^ "Wildfires of Note". bcfireinfo.for.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  12. ^ a b "Wildfires of Note". bcfireinfo.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  13. ^ "Wildfires of Note". bcfireinfo.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  14. ^ "Wildfires of Note". bcfireinfo.for.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  15. ^ "Wildfires of Note". bcfireinfo.for.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  16. ^ a b c "Wildfires of Note". bcfireinfo.for.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  17. ^ "Wildfires of Note". bcfireinfo.for.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  18. ^ "Flights cancelled as B.C. wildfire smoke chokes airports | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  19. ^ "B.C.'s wildfire smoke isn't just floating across Canada — it's reaching Ireland". Global News. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
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