Drought, high temperatures are factors in fire size

While the Plateau fire previously held the record in 2017, the Plateau fire complex, which consisted of nearby fires, burned an area of 5,451 square kilometres. However, wildfire officials say because the complex consisted of multiple fires burning in separate but nearby areas, they are not considered a single blaze

The Donnie Creek fire now covers an area 1.8 times the size of Metro Vancouver.

Drysdale said the Peace region began facing drought conditions in early May, and there hasn’t been the precipitation that would have helped ward off large fire starts in the spring.

“The fire started in May, which is during what we call spring dip. So, the area hadn’t greened up and vegetation hadn’t accepted the moisture that it normally does,” she said.

“We saw 30 degree temperatures in the spring. And we’ve had high and continuous winds throughout.”

Third worst season on record

Sunday saw B.C. cross a grim milestone, as the 2023 season has already surpassed the 2021 season for the third worst on record, in terms of area burned.

The B.C. Wildfire Service says 8,697.98 square kilometres of land has been charred by fires as of 3 p.m. PT Sunday, passing 2021 for the third worst wildfire season of all time.

Four of B.C.’s five worst years for wildfire destruction have come in the past seven years.

While the BCWS says that technology has improved in recent decades to allow for more accurate wildfire mapping, researchers have found that wildfire seasons have intensified recently due to human-caused climate change.

Sarah Budd, a fire information officer, says that on average in the past decade just over 217 square kilometres would have been burned by this time of the year.

She says that cooler temperatures are likely to stick around in the south of B.C. next week, but northeast B.C. is likely to see a warming trend.

Nearly 80 fires are burning across B.C. as of 3 p.m. on Sunday, and 24 of them are considered out of control.