Canada’s wildfire season is off to a slow start, with the amount of land area burned so far this year still below the 10-year average, government officials and ministers said Wednesday in Ottawa.
Nearly three million hectares of forest were burned in wildfires at the same time last year. So far this year, Canada has lost just 500,000 hectares to fires.
Officials have warned that the improvements may not last into 2023, which saw the worst wildfire season on record, as forecasts for July and August are similar to conditions seen at the same time in Canada last year.
“Sadly, this forecast continues an alarming and all too predictable trend,” Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Wednesday.
“Weather forecasts predict that most of Canada will experience warmer than normal temperatures this coming summer, with some areas experiencing less rain than normal.”
Government officials say there are currently 69 wildfires burning across the country, eight of which are out of control, with most of them in Alberta and British Columbia, with a few in Quebec.
No state has asked the federal government for help fighting the wildfires, and officials said they don’t expect that to change in the short term.
“While the overall severity of the fires so far has been less than last year and the worst predicted in April and May, the situation could change rapidly,” said Derrick Treharne, director of Public Safety Canada’s Government Operations Centre.
High-risk areas in 2024
Officials say rain has been falling in recent weeks across the Prairies and central and eastern Canada, but many parts of the country have seen a lack of precipitation over the past 12 months.
Michael Norton, director of the Northern Forestry Centre in Edmonton, said these dry conditions mean “there is a high probability of above-normal wildfire activity” across the country in June and July.
Norton said areas from northeastern British Columbia to western Labrador and parts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are likely to experience above-normal wildfire risks in June.
Government officials said during a technical briefing on Wednesday that areas with “well above average” wildfire risk in June were eastern Saskatchewan and northern Manitoba.
Large areas of Yukon and eastern British Columbia through to western Quebec face an above average wildfire risk in July. Areas facing a significantly above average wildfire risk in July include most of the Northwest Territories, the Prairie Provinces and eastern British Columbia.
“The situation today is very different to this time last year and I have to say that will have a big impact on the future,” Norton said.
