2024 was nothing like the previous year, but the BC Wildfire Service says it was still a very busy season.
There were more than 16-hundred wildfires resulting in an estimated 1.08 million hectares burned.
That compares to 2.245 fires and more than 2.8 million hectares burned in 2023, which is more than double any previous year and by far the worst fire season ever in BC.
Getting back to this year, the BC Wildfire Service says there were 51 evacuation orders in 2024 including one for Wells and Barkerville on July 21st that was eventually downgraded to an alert on the 26th.
The Groundhog Lake complex of fires was the reason for the evacuation order.
The largest fire, Antler Creek, was one of the notable wildfires in BC in 2024.
It grew to 14,277 hectares in size and at one point Wells Mayor Ed Coleman noted that it was within less than 5 kilometres of Wells and Barkerville.
Structural protection units were deployed to protect the historic town.
The Cariboo’s neighbours to the north have had two of the busiest wildfire seasons back to back.
The BC Wildfire Service says 10 percent of the land base has burned in the region, which is more than the previous 60 years combined.
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