INTERNATIONAL WILDFIRES (21ST CENTURY)

2017

ECOCIDE
noun
destruction of the natural environment,
especially when deliberate.

INTERNATIONAL WILDFIRES

(Largest Fires of the 21st Century)

Canadian B.C. Wildfires
(2017)

(Satellite Imagery)

#13

LARGEST FIRE OF THE 21ST CENTURY

The Official Story

2017 BRITISH COLUMBIA WILDFIRES
(13th Largest Fire of the 21st Century)

On July 6, 2017, a two-hectare wildfire began west of 100 Mile House, British Columbia, Canada marking the beginning of the record-breaking 2017 wildfire season in British Columbia. On July 7, 56 new fires started throughout British Columbia (BC) leading to several evacuation alerts, orders and the declaration of a provincial state of emergency by the Government of British Columbia. By September 12, 158 fires were burning throughout the province. A total of 12,161 square kilometres (1.2 million hectares) had burned by the end of the 2017 fire season, the largest total area burned in a fire season in recorded history (1.3% of BC total area). This record was broken the following year, with five of BC’s worst 10 fire seasons occurring since 2010. However, the 2017 fire season was also notable for the largest number of total evacuees in a fire season (65,000 people), as well as for the largest single fire ever in British Columbia. Research indicates that human-caused climate change played a significant role in the fires.

Fire progression

On July 7, the first of many major fires began, starting at two hectares and quickly progressing to be eight times larger by that evening, requiring an evacuation alert that same day. By July 7, 140 fires had started throughout BC, most of them in the central interior. The fires were aggressive and grew quickly, prompting a state of emergency as well as several evacuation alerts and orders. The next day, 182 total fires were active throughout the province prompted the issuing of up to 20 evacuation alerts and orders. The Emergency Operating Centre in Prince George was activated, and Emergency Social Services opened a reception centre and shelter at the College of New Caledonia.

Within three days, the first major fire, that started at two hectares, had grown to 4,000 hectares resulting in a mandatory evacuation order with up to 2,000 residents evacuated. By the following day over 10,000 Williams Lake residents were on an evacuation alert. On July 11, a total of 200 active fires and 4,000 evacuees registered in Prince George, led to addition lodging at the University of Northern British Columbia

2017’s fire season caused the closure of Highway 97 from Kersley, south of Quesnel, all the way south to Pavilion (along Highway 99), and south of Ashcroft. It also closed Bella Coola Highway to westbound traffic and created evacuation alerts the entire length of the Bella Coola Highway from Precipice to the junction with Williams Lake. No other fire season had had this breadth of large fires across the province.

Three fires have achieved particularly notable sizes of over 100,000 hectares. First, the Hanceville Fire resulted from the merger of the Hanceville, Riske Creek and Raven Lake fires along Highway 20. As of August 20, the fire reached its largest size of 227,000 hectares, spreading as far south as Gang Ranch west of 100 Mile House. The Ashcroft Fire (also known as the Elephant Hill Fire) started on the Ashcroft Reserve, and spread north of Highway 99 to Green Lake, east of 100 Mile House. Finally the Nazko Complex started as a series of smaller fires west of Quesnel, two of which were notable in their own right, the Baezaeko River Fire, and the Tautri Lake Complex. These fires merged August 18, 2017, along with the Chezacut Fire and the Arc Mountain Fire, to form the Nazko Complex at over 432,000 hectares. This single fire was later renamed the Plateau Complex, centred on the Chilcotin Plateau. Overall this behemoth fire covered a combined area of 545,151 hectares, making it the largest fire in B.C.’s recorded history (roughly the same size as Prince Edward Island). This fire was the result of nearly 20 separate fires merging.

Source: Wikipedia

2017 British Columbia Wildfires Statistics

Dates(s):	Provincial state of emergency: July 7, 2017 – September 15, 2017
Burned Area:	1,216,053 hectares (3,004,930 acres)
Cost:	Over $649,000,000
Cause:	Lightning and Human-Caused
Buildings Destroyed:	444
Deaths:	0