Cost of fighting B.C. wildfires this year tops $100M — well before peak fire season
CBC
The B.C Wildfire Service (BCWS) has now spent $105.3 million fighting fires so far this season, burning through half of its allocated budget well before the start of the peak fire season.
The service provided the figures in a statement to CBC News on Monday. The BCWS's total budget for the 2023 fire season is $204 million. In 2022, the budget was $199 million.
"However, B.C. Wildfire Service has the authority to spend as required over those amounts for suppression activity, and that is funded, if needed, through government contingencies," the Ministry of Forests said in a statement.
"Wildfire threats to communities will be addressed and are not constrained by the budget."
The costs, just two weeks into June, are well ahead of trends in recent years.
Over the past 10 years, firefighting costs have averaged $316.9 million for an entire season.
The devastating 2021 fire season, which destroyed the village of Lytton, saw costs surpass $100 million in early July.
B.C.'s costliest firefighting seasons were 2017 and 2018, when the province spent $649 million and $615 million, respectively.
Those were also the most destructive wildfire years in B.C. history, with 12,160 square kilometres of land burned in 2017 and 12,543 square kilometres in 2018.
More than 430 wildfires have been reported in the province this year as of Tuesday. The overwhelming majority have been in the Prince George Fire Centre, which roughly comprises the northeast quarter of B.C., where over 7,550 square kilometres of land have burned so far — more than half of the historic season high.
July and August are typically peak fire season in the province, reporting the most destruction and costs.
The provincial government has increased the budget for the BCWS as the agency transitions to a year-round service, describing it as "the largest investment in the history of the wildfire service."
Around $359 million in new funding was announced in the 2022 budget, including the doubling of funding to wildfire prevention services like FireSmart and community resiliency programs.
A federal Conservative member of Parliament from Manitoba says Ontario Premier Doug Ford didn't have "all the facts in front of him" when he doubled down on threats to pull Crown Royal off shelves.
Around 2,000 litres of coolant leaked into Charlottetown Harbour earlier this week after the MV Confederation was damaged by ice while on its way to St. John’s, N.L., the Canadian Coast Guard says.
City of Calgary officials will provide an update this afternoon at 1 p.m. on the work to repair the Bearspaw south feeder main after it burst on Dec. 30.
Ottawa firefighters acted quickly Thursday morning to extinguish a blaze that began when a family's dog chewed a heated ski glove, causing its battery to ignite.
RCMP in Kinngait say two fishermen reported missing on New Year's Eve have been found dead.
Canadian heavy oil prices are plunging this week following the upheaval in Venezuela over the weekend and the prospect of more Venezuelan oil imports to the United States.
Conservation officials are urging everyone in the London area to avoid waterways this week as water levels continue to rise with melting snow and ice.
The City of Toronto’s 2026 budget will prioritize affordability and will include a lower tax increase than the city has seen in recent years, Mayor Olivia Chow said ahead of the budget’s reveal Thursday morning.
Memorial University political scientist Kelly Blidook pulled no punches when asked what cost the Liberals the 2025 provincial election in Newfoundland and Labrador.
It’s a mystery connected to Manitoulin Island and the north shore of Lake Huron that police thought they had solved five times, but each time they were thwarted.
In a break from recent tradition, Nova Scotia Power’s most senior officials are not participating in the public hearing that will determine whether many of their customers see rates jump this year and next.
When a historic bell was stolen from a Fredericton church after Christmas, a security camera from a neighbouring property caught a photo of a pickup truck.
While kids across Quebec return to school after the holidays, nine-year-old Ellie isn’t among them.