2024 wildfire season is on track to be second largest in last two decades

Canada’s wildfire season is on track to be the second largest in at least the last two decades, trailing only last year’s record-breaking season. 

Federal officials say above-normal temperatures and drought conditions across parts of Canada have continued to drive fire activity, with 5.3 million hectares burned so far, though they caution that number is preliminary. 

Outside of last year’s roughly 15 million hectares burned, federal records indicate only three other seasons have topped 5 million hectares, and the last was in 1995.

Yan Boulanger, a research scientist with Natural Resources Canada, says as wildfire seasons start earlier and end later due to climate change, it’s becoming, “increasingly evident,” that Canada must shift away from the concept of a wildfire season toward the idea of a continuous fire year.

He says several of the last 10 years have been above the 25-year average for area burned, primarily due to extreme fire conditions and longer seasons, driven by climate change. 

In a briefing, officials say Western Canada is being hit hardest, with about 70 per cent of the total area burned so far this year falling in British Columbia, Alberta, Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2024.