Researchers expect year-long fire seasons in northwestern Canada

Federal officials and researchers say elevated levels of drought across the country are making wildfire seasons longer — particularly in northwestern Canada. 

At a technical briefing on Wednesday, researchers from several federal departments sharing their findings for this year said higher-than-normal drought levels are driving fire behaviour year-round, and fires are expected to burn at least until the winter in the Northwest Territories, northern Alberta and B.C.

Yan Boulanger, a federal forest ecologist, said although fire behaviour is winding down across the country, the federal government will need to shift to a year-round fire management strategy. 

"We must continue to be vigilant against fires starting all year round," he said. "We need to shift away from viewing wildland fires simply as seasonal events and move toward the concept of a continuous fire year."

Longer fire seasons

Jean-François Duperré, with Public Safety Canada, said the number of fires across the country has now dropped to about 240, indicating fire behaviour is winding down.

The researchers primarily attribute the shift in fire behaviour to climate change-driven drought, Natural Resources Canada says.

This year, researchers say they predict wildfires will burn 53,000 square kilometres of land nationally. That's the second-highest area burned since 2000.

About a fifth of that activity is in B.C. So far this year, more than 10,700 square kilometres have burned in the province. 

Boulanger said fire behaviour was driven by elevated drought levels across the country. Canada has seen higher-than-normal drought conditions and heat over the past 12 months, and the country can expect to see dry conditions occur more often with climate change. 

Drought and storm damage

B.C. Hydro is warning residents that three years of prolonged drought has weakened trees and vegetation, making B.C. communities more vulnerable to climate change. They're asking residents to prepare for power outages caused by falling trees during storms. 

"Trees weakened by years of drought can be more susceptible to wind and stormy weather and could be at risk of falling over into our infrastructure, contributing to power outages,"  Susie Rieder, a spokesperson for B.C. Hydro, told CBC News.

B.C. Hydro says the risk of power outages are higher on Vancouver Island, which has sustained higher levels of drought, and northern B.C., which has experienced major wildfires. 

The warning comes as atmospheric rivers begin to hit some parts of the province.