2023 BC Wildfire Service Season Summary

*When reading or watching the 2023 season summaries, please be advised they engage with fatalities and safety in a very raw way. You may consider choosing to engage with these in a quiet space, or not at all depending on your head space. Be sure to check in with yourself before reading or watching.
The 2023 wildfire season has been long and challenging. Between April 1 and October 31, 2,245 wildfires burned more than 2.84 million hectares of forest and land resulting in the most destructive wildfire season in British Columbia’s recorded history.
“We started really early, snow melted three to four weeks early, we were experiencing very aggressive fire behaviour in early May and that has persisted right into the month of October,” Neal McLoughlin, Superintendent, BCWS Predictive Services.
It has also been emotionally challenging with devastating impacts to multiple communities and the tragic loss of six members of the wildland firefighting community.
This video acknowledges the conditions and impacts of the 2023 wildfire season. It also honours personnel and partners while paying tribute to the fallen wildland firefighters. Read our 2023 season summary to learn more about wildfire response around the province this year: ow.ly/aBEV50QgyRP