(Ottawa) The wildfire season has been less disastrous so far this year than in 2023, but there is a high risk across most of the country that new fires will break out this summer.
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC) says there were 120 active fires Tuesday, 46 of which were out of control.
About 5,200 square kilometers of land have been burned so far this year, almost two-thirds of which is in British Columbia.
At the same time last year, nearly 2,500 fires had already burned more than 46,000 square kilometers, half of which were in Alberta and Quebec.
Over the past decade, the annual average has been 7,700 square kilometers.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Federal Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the risk remains high as hot, dry weather is expected across much of the country over the next three months.
“The planet is burning and climate change is a major factor,” he said at a press conference.
Wilkinson said above-average temperatures are expected across most of the country and below-average precipitation is forecast in several locations.
According to wildfire forecasts, the areas most at risk are in British Columbia, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, with northern regions of British Columbia and Alberta further away. risk in June, with southern British Columbia and the southern Prairies being more at risk in July.
Although the risk is lower in Ontario and Quebec, there is still a chance of more fires than usual in both provinces.
In July, the risk of fire is well above average in all of the Prairie Provinces, southern Nunavut and most of the Northwest Territories.
Globally, there have been 12 consecutive months of record average temperatures.
Environment Canada reported that the winter of 2023 was the warmest in the country’s history.