B.C. wildfires: Nearly all fires started so far this year were human-caused

More than two dozen wildfires have already been recorded in B.C. this month and nearly all of them are classified as human-caused, provincial data shows.

More than two dozen wildfires have already been recorded in B.C. this month and nearly all of them are classified as human-caused, provincial data shows.

So far this fiscal year, which began on April 1, 26 wildfires have been noted in the province by the B.C. Wildfire Service. Of those, six remained active as of Tuesday morning and most are in the Kamloops and Cariboo fire centres. 

Taylor Colman, information officer with BC Wildfire Service, told CTV News Vancouver these numbers are fairly average for this time of year. In fact, last year, 27 fires were recorded in the first 11 days of the new fiscal year.

One difference from last year, however, is the conditions. December, January and February were colder than usual, while March was a little more dry. But April has had a wet start, Colman said.

"The majority of the province last year had below-average levels of precipitation and snowpack, so we were going into the spring last year with a little bit more drought than this year," she said.

Last year's wildfire season had some devastating impacts with several communities across the province being forced to evacuate. In some cases, homes were lost, and the entire village of Lytton was destroyed.

All but two of the 26 fires recorded so far this year have been classified as person-caused. The cause of the last two fires remains unknown.