Western Canada: As B.C. marks record wildfire season, the rest of summer set to be extremely challenging

Good morning, Mark Iype in Edmonton today.

In what has been a record-setting wildfire season in Canada this year, British Columbia has now become the flashpoint. With nearly 14,000 square kilometres of land burned as of Tuesday and pervasive drought conditions in large sections of the province, the rest of the summer is set to be extremely challenging.

But when word came on Monday that nine-year-old Carter Vigh, from 100 Mile House, had died last week after a severe asthma attack that his family says was exacerbated by wildfire smoke, the reality of the season hit significantly harder.

“We want people to know how quickly things can change,” Carter’s mother, Amber Vigh, said in a statement on Facebook.

“Yesterday we had to say our final goodbyes to you,” she wrote in another post. “My perfect baby boy, laying on that bed. I truly don’t know how we can ever possibly heal from this!”

The B.C. coroner said the “sudden and unexpected” death of the boy has prompted an investigation. The service also issued a public safety bulletin about the wildfire smoke that has been pervasive in Western Canada this season. Smoke from Canada’s wildfires has also affected parts of the country’s east, as well as the U.S.

On Tuesday, B.C. surpassed its worst wildfire season on record by area burned, with 13,986 square kilometres of land in the province consumed by fire, besting the 13,543-square-kilometre record set in 2018. Emergency management officials were quick to point out at a news conference that it is only mid-July, and there are still months to go in the season.

As The Globe’s Andrea Woo reported, drought conditions are also a major source of concern. Officials said 18 of the province’s 34 water basins are at Drought Level 4, meaning adverse effects to ecosystems are likely, and four are at Drought Level 5, the highest level of severity, meaning almost certain adverse effects.

Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, said the drought could worsen into the fall, and potentially persist into the next year.

“We are working across ministries to ensure that we are using all levers available to us to reduce water consumption, and this includes implementing water conservation measures throughout all government facilities,” she told the news conference Tuesday.

While the number of B.C. households forced to evacuate because of wildfires is currently just 150 – compared to the tens of thousands of evacuees in Alberta, Quebec and Nova Scotia earlier this spring – around 3,400 are under evacuation alert in the northwest, northeast and Cariboo regions of the province.

The Canadian Armed Forces have deployed 75 soldiers in Vanderhoof to assist wildfire fighting efforts, and another 75 are expected to arrive in Burns Lake on Wednesday. They will join roughly 2,000 BC Wildfire Service personnel, as well as firefighters from the U.S., Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand.

Environment and Climate Change Canada has said B.C. can expect warm, dry conditions to continue, a potential disaster for farmers and ranchers in the province.

According to the BC Cattlemen’s Association, some ranchers have begun selling off cattle as they look for new sources of feed.

“This is not an easy time to be a farmer, with fires, floods, drought, extreme heat and extreme cold, animal diseases and a pandemic all within the last three years,” Minister of Agriculture and Food Pam Alexis told reporters.

This is the weekly Western Canada newsletter written by B.C. Editor Wendy Cox and Alberta Bureau Chief Mark Iype. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here.