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EDITORIAL: Preparing for future wildfires

This year is the worst fire season on record in B.C., with far more damage than 2003 or 1958
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The summer of 2017 will be remembered for the many wildfires which burned throughout British Columbia.

This year, a total of 1,246 fires in B.C. have burned 1,179,633 hectares.

This year is the worst fire season on record in British Columbia, with far more damage than the 2003 season and even more than the devastating 1958 fire season.

The worst of the damage this year has been in the central part of the province, but in the area served by the Kamloops Fire Centre, including the Okanagan Valley, 245 fires have destroyed 212,154 hectares.

The 10-year average is 154,944 hectares of fire damage provincewide.

Smoke from this year’s wildfires has blanketed the sky and affected breathing for some.

Fires burning close to communities, including the Finlay Creek fire which is still active between Peachland and Summerland, resulted in evacuation notices and evacuation alerts.

Because of the fire risks, people across British Columbia prepared for possible evacuations, packing grab-and-go bags with essential items in case they had to leave their homes on short notice.

The fire season is not yet over, and as a result, campfire bans and forest use restrictions remain in place in the central and southern parts of the B.C. Interior.

Weather conditions this year have been a significant factor in the wildfire damage. The summer has been hot and dry, allowing fires to spread quickly.

The immediate priority is to control and extinguish the wildfires now burning.

Later, when the fire season has ended, it will be time to consider how to prepare for future wildfire seasons.

While this year may seem to be an anomaly, there is no way to know whether similar conditions next year could result in another summer of devastating wildfires.

Any preparations we can take today can help in future years.