By The Canadian Press

Wildfire Season

More than 8,800 square kilometres scorched in B.C. amid second-worst wildfire season in Canada

Dec 29, 2025 | 11:15 AM

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s 2025 wildfire season was about a third as destructive as the record-setting season two years earlier.

The Ministry of Forests says in a statement that 8,864 square kilometres of land (886,348 hectares)  was scorched by 1,373 blazes since April 1.

The area burned is lower than the 10,811 square kilometres burned by 1,697 fires in 2024.  It’s also down significantly from 2023’s record wildfire season, when 2,293 wildfires scorched more than 28,400 square kilometres of land across the province.

Most of the area burned – 7,238 square kilometres (723,817 hectares) was in the Prince George Fire Centre, with the Cariboo Fire Centre a distant second with 1,312 square kilometres (131,189 hectares) burned. The Kamloops Fire Centre was in fourth place with 96 square kilometres (9,574 hectares) burned.

Across B.C., there were 42 wildfire evacuation orders covering about 2,600 properties in 2025, compared to 51 orders last year and 208 in 2023.

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The ministry says while wildfire numbers were lower this year than in the previous two years, the blazes still affected residents throughout British Columbia.

Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene says in the statement that the province continues to focus on making sure communities have the necessary resources and support during major wildfires.

“People’s lives are increasingly being impacted by the effects of climate change and we must be proactive in how we prepare for climate-driven emergencies,” Greene says.

Forests Minister Ravi Parmar added 2025 was Canada’s second-worst wildfire season overall with more than 80,000 square kilometres – or eight million hectares – burned. He added more B.C. wildland firefighters were deployed to other Canadian jurisdictions than any previous season.

“From technology to equipment and training, all to protect people and communities, the BC Wildfire Service has shown us that they are a global leader in wildfire work,” Parmar says, adding the group continues to learn from their experience to “raise the bar even higher.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2025.

– With files from CFJC Today