INTERNATIONAL WILDFIRES (21ST CENTURY)

2023

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

INTERNATIONAL WILDFIRES

(Largest Fires of the 21st Century)

Canadian Wildfires
(2023)

(Donnie Creek Fire, British Columbia)

(Original Image)

#4

LARGEST FIRE OF THE 21ST CENTURY

The Official Story

2023 CANADIAN WILDFIRES
(4th Largest Fire of the 21st Century)

Beginning in March 2023, and with increased intensity starting in June, Canada has been affected by an ongoing, record-setting series of wildfires. All 13 provinces and territories have been affected, with large fires in Alberta, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. The 2023 wildfire season has seen the most area burned in Canada’s recorded history, surpassing the 1989, 1995, and 2014 fire seasons, as well as in recorded North American history, surpassing the 2020 Western US wildfire season.

As of September 7, 6,187 fires had burned 165,646 square kilometres (63,956 sq mi; 40,932,000 acres), about five percent of the entire forest area of Canada and more than six times the long-term average of 2.66 million ha (6.6 million acres) for that time of the year. On September 8 there were 964 wildfires active, and 597 of those were deemed “out of control”. International aid has helped reduce the impact of the fires.

Smoke emitted from the wildfires has caused air quality alerts and evacuations in Canada and the United States. In late June it crossed the Atlantic, reaching Europe.

British Columbia

British Columbia saw an unusual lack of rain in May and early June, leading to increased wildfire conditions in the province. In British Columbia, about 60% of wildfires are caused by lightning, while the remainder are due to human activity. In a study of British Columbia’s 2017 fire season, researchers found that human-caused climate change had a strong influence on the amount of area burned.

In early June, the province saw multiple wildfires in or near Peachland and on Vancouver Island near both Port Alberni and Sayward. As of June 2, there were 54 active fires in the region.[54] Officials estimated about half of the province’s wildfires were caused by human action. In the west of Vancouver Island, highway access to the towns of Port Alberni, Tofino, and Ucluelet was cut off for more than two weeks due to the Cameron Bluffs wildfire.

In northeastern British Columbia, the Donnie Creek wildfire became the single largest wildfire in BC history. It attained this status on June 18. By June 24, the fire was burning over an area of greater than 5,648 square kilometres (2,180 square miles).

There were 377 active wildfires in British Columbia as of July 15, including 20 that were classified as “highly visible, threatening or potentially damaging ‘wildfires of note'”. Unruly blazes destroyed properties and closed parts of a major national highway.

British Columbia evacuations

In early May, some British Columbia residents evacuated their homes due to out-of-control wildfires there. Around May 22, residents were evacuated from near Tzenzaicut Lake, which is about 600 km (373 mi) north of Vancouver. In early June, officials recommended that British Columbians be prepared to evacuate if need be. On June 7, the community of One Island Lake was evacuated. On June 8, the community of Tumbler Ridge was evacuated. As of July 15, there were nearly 70 evacuation orders across the province.

In August, premier David Eby declared a state of emergency as the city of West Kelowna was evacuated when the McDougall Creek wildfire grew to cover 6,800 hectares. The campus of UBC Okanagan and some nearby suburbs were placed under evacuation order. Overall, at least 35,000 people were under evacuation order and another 30,000 under evacuation alert, as of August 19.

Source: Wikipedia

2023 Canadian Wildfires Statistics

Dates(s):	March 1, 2023 – present
Total Fires:	6,187 (as of September 7, 2023)
Burned Area:	16.565 million ha (40.93 million acres) (as of September 7, 2023)
Deaths:	6
Evacuated:	155,856 people (as of July 7, 2023)