The 2025 wildfire season has already been the second-worst on record, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).
Has climate change been a contributing factor in this year's fire intensity?
"Fire has been a part of Canada's national history for centuries," said Hossein Bonakdari, associate professor at the University of Ottawa.
"But climate change is making wildfires in B.C., and other places in the country, worse."
As of Sept. 9, B.C. has already seen 834,545 hectares of its forests and land destroyed by wildfires.
Even though that's fewer than the previous year, and far fewer than in 2023, it amounts to five times more hectares burned than in 2022.
According to BC Wildfire Service, 2023 was the "most destructive in British Columbia's recorded history."
"The situation was really catastrophic. Around the country, we lost more than 80 million hectares of forest," said Bonakdari.
B.C. has seen the highest number of wildfires compared to all other provinces this season, with 1,229 so far. This makes up almost 23 per cent of all the country's blazes.
About 60 per cent of wildfires have natural causes, predominantly lightning. But humans cause about 40 per cent of all wildfires, including utility-caused wildfires from power lines.
"Power lines are within the forest, and when a storm or other extreme weather events come in, they can cause ignition of fires," explained Bonakdari.
Other human-caused wildfires can stem from campfires or cigarettes and are therefore considered avoidable.
Another example of a human-caused wildfire is the Izman Creek wildfire north of the village of Lytton, which was sparked by a malfunctioning RCMP trailer. The fire burned for more than ten days and caused the evacuation of more than three properties.
Bonakdari and his team specialize in environmental engineering and climate forecasting, which aims to improve wildfire management. His research shows that wildfires are less likely to ignite along roads, such as highways, that are built further away from neighbouring trees and other vegetation.
"When people mindlessly throw away cigarettes, small things like that, can cause wildfires," he explained.
Bonakdari says wildfires need two things to burn: fuel, such as dried trees, and a trigger to ignite the fire.
"Climate change can have a serious impact on these two elements. And while climate change does not directly ignite the fire, it can create the drought situation for the fire," Bonakdari said.
"Additionally, dry conditions amplify the impact of lightning ignition."
"Certainly, this was the case for Manitoba this year. Weather conditions, for example, reduced snow coverage in the winter, precipitation deficit, these are synergistic interactions of multiple moderate climate anomalies that create such a catastrophic event."
Compared to the total burned land across all provinces, wildfires destroyed the most hectares in Manitoba and Saskatchewan this year.
While wildfires in the prairies burn predominantly on grassland with less fuel, they can consume larger areas much faster than wildfires in mountainous B.C. would, says Professor Bonakdari.
"The fires in the prairies, and even in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, are fast-moving and have a much shorter life."
"But fires in B.C. grow larger overall, and they can burn for weeks or even months as the terrain is forested, fuel is mostly dense," he added.
The province has seen multiple, long-lasting fires this season. For example, the Mount Underwood wildfire near Port Alberni was first detected on Aug. 11, and it is still burning, although it is not expected to grow any further.
So far, it has consumed over 3,518 hectares.
Additionally, wildfires are not only causing problems in the summer. Burned areas have serious consequences for the rest of the year.
"When we lose the forest to the fire, soil erosion happens. We lose the topsoil, which means flooding and landslides are more likely," Bonakdari said.
B.C.'s wildfire season started in early May, caused by several so-called holdover fires in the province's northeast area.
Holdovers, also called 'zombie fires,' keep burning deep down in the organic soils of forests, sustaining winter, only to re-ignite in the summertime. Bonakdari says some of the zombie fires that kicked off the season have survived since 2023.
"When a wildfire burns deep into organic matter and peat of the soil, heat can stay with little oxygen in the soil, and it is ready to regenerate. When spring comes, this fire resurfaces without even a fresh ignition," explained Bonakdari.
"Unfortunately, they are really hard to detect and long-lasting. It can burn underground and is not even detectable through satellite images."
Wildfires in B.C. have major implications for the impact of climate change, as the greenhouse gas emissions are much higher compared to prairie fires.
"The drought conditions will stay with us for the coming years and accelerate the loop of climate change. Canada was one of the top three polluters of CO2 in the world, simply because of the terrible wildfire season," the professor explained.
"With more wildfire activity comes higher emissions and a longer and hotter fire season. This is the situation we all face."