Wednesday December 31, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The year 2025 was one of fighting wildfires while building community resilience.
That’s how the BC Ministry of Forests has presented a year-end overview of wildfire management.
Wildfires are a reality on the landscape in BC and across Canada.
Some of the more notable fires on Vancouver Island this year included the Mount Underwood Wildfire near Port Alberni and Wesley Ridge Wildfire in the Nanaimo area.
The Province says it is continuing to build on the lessons learned by implementing wildfire predictive technology, using night-vision resources and working collaboratively with local, national and international partners to ensure a more resilient future.
2025 in quick review:
The Forests Ministry provides this summary:
- While less destructive than previous years, the 2025 wildfire season still affected people throughout B.C.
- B.C. hosted the first National Wildfire Symposium to outline a national leadership strategy that will shape wildfire resiliency in Canada
- The Province continues to invest in a year-round BC Wildfire Service, new technologies, and improved mitigation and prevention efforts
“We’re coming off our second-worst wildfire season in Canadian history,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests.
“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. Thanks to the dedicated members working tirelessly to fight the threat of wildfire. In 2026, we will raise the bar even higher.”
Technology & innovation:
The Province is continuing to build on the lessons learned by implementing wildfire predictive technology, using night-vision resources and working collaboratively with local, national and international partners to ensure a more resilient future.
Ahead of the 2026 wildfire season, the Province will continue to identify new technologies and opportunities for better prevention and response. B.C. will also continue to hire and train wildfire personnel, and to research ways to build a safer, more resilient B.C.
Through a range of research partnerships and a commitment to innovation, the BC Wildfire Service will continue to focus on the health, wellness and safety of wildland firefighters, as well as the natural science related to wildland fire behaviour, it was stated in a news release from the Forests Ministry this week.
By the numbers:
Since April 1, 2025, more than 1,350 wildfires burned an estimated 886,360 hectares of land in B.C.
That’s fewer fires than seen in the years 2021 to 2024.
Here is a summary of the past five years:
- 2024: 1,697 wildfires, 1,081,159 hectares burned
- 2023: 2,293 wildfires, 2,840,104 hectares burned
- 2022: 1,801 wildfires, 135,235 hectares burned
- 2021: 1,647 wildfires, 869,300 hectares burned
- 2020: 670 wildfires, 14, 536 hectares burned
Evacuations:
Wildfires this season resulted in 42 evacuation orders, which affected approximately 2,600 properties and 91 evacuation alerts, which affected approximately 6,950 properties. Previous to that:
- 2024: 51 orders issued, 112 alerts
- 2023: 208 orders issued, 386 alerts
- 2022: 15 orders issued, 43 alerts
- 2021: 181 orders issued, 304 alerts
- 2020: three orders issued, nine alerts
Preparing for climate-driven emergencies:
“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,” said Kelly Greene, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness.
“Our first priority is to protect people and ensure that communities have the tools and resources they need to stay safe during emergencies,” said Greene.
===== RELATED:
- BC backs forest sector tech innovation as part of Look West (December 18, 2025)
- Langford’s wildfire preparedness gets $200K boost (November 6, 2025)
- Wildfire update Sept 8 includes warning to drone users (September 8, 2025)
- Labour Day weekend sees 36 wildfires active in Coastal Fire Centre (August 30, 2025)
- Mount Underwood wildfire now being held after 10 days (August 21, 2025)
- Mount Underwood wildfire damage to BC Hydro infrastructure could take two weeks to repair (August 16, 2025)
- Wesley Ridge wildfire now held after 11 days (August 11, 2025)
- NEWS SECTIONS: FORESTRY | EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT | WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT