Williams Lake is a city in the Central Interior of British Columbia, in the central part of a region known as the Cariboo. Williams Lake is the one of the largest cites, by population of metropolitan area, in the Cariboo after neighbouring Quesnel. The city is famous for the Williams Lake Stampede, which was once the second largest professional rodeo in Canada, after only the Calgary Stampede.
The Chilcotin River /tʃɪlˈkoʊtɪn/ located in Southern British Columbia, Canada is a 241 km (150 mi) long tributary of the Fraser River. The name Chilcotin comes from Tŝilhqot’in, meaning "ochre river people," where ochre refers to the mineral used by Tŝilhqot’in Nation and other Indigenous communities as a base for paint or dye. The Chilcotin River, Chilko River and Lake, and Taseko River and Lake make up the Chilcotin River watershed. This 19,200 km2 (7,400 sq mi) watershed drains the Chilcotin Plateau which reaches north to south from the Nechako Plateau to Bridge River county and east to west from Fraser River to the Coast Mountains. It is also one of twelve watersheds that make up the Fraser River Basin. Made up of seven major tributaries, Chilcotin River starts northeast of Itcha Mountain, flowing southeast until it joins the Fraser River south of Williams Lake, 22 km (14 mi) upstream from Gang Ranch.
Eastgate is a small cabin community located at the Eastern portal of Manning Provincial Park in the Cascade Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the Similkameen-Okanagan Forest District. The community store and gas station, and formerly the now closed restaurant, are popular for visitors of Manning Park Resort and ski area. The settlement is located along the uppermost Similkameen River. Access to Eastgate is limited solely to east–west travel along the Hope-Princeton Highway. The community has one gas station, a Canco gas station, a cabin rental and a bed and breakfast. The gas station was formerly host to the Eastgate Canada Post Office. The Eastgate Volunteer Fire Department, with three trucks, provides fire protection for the area and frequently participates in forest fire control in the region. The small town shows up on some government maps as Manning Park.
On July 18, 2009, 3 wildfires broke out around the city of West Kelowna, British Columbia during extremely dry and windy conditions. Over 20,000 people were evacuated as a result of the fires. 9,877 hectares of forest was burned along with 4 buildings. All 3 fires were suspected as human caused but the exact ignition source is still unknown.
2015 Canadian wildfires were a series of wildfires across Canada and Alaska in July 2015 which spread smoke across most of North America. Over two hundred fires were ablaze across British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.
On May 1, 2016, a wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. On May 3, it swept through the community, forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta's history, with upwards of 88,000 people forced from their homes. Firefighters were assisted by personnel from both the Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as other Canadian provincial agencies, to fight the wildfire. Aid for evacuees was provided by various governments and via donations through the Canadian Red Cross and other local and national charitable organizations.
By the end of June, 2018, there had been more than 560 wildfires in British Columbia.
The 2019 Alberta wildfires have been described by NASA as part of an extreme fire season in the province. In 2019 there were a total of 803,393.32 hectares, which is over 3.5 times more land area burned than in the five-year average burned. The five year average is 747 fires destroying 146,360.08 hectares. There were 644 wildfires recorded in Alberta. By May 31, 10,000 people had been evacuated, 16 homes, and the Steen River CN railway bridge, had been destroyed.
Binta Lake Fire was a lightning-caused wildfire in Southeast of Burns Lake, British Columbia that started on Wednesday, July 28, 2010, and lasted for more than a month. It was the largest fire in the province in 2010. The fire burned a total area of 400 square kilometers. The fire caused thick smoke in surrounding areas, evacuation orders in the region, and damaged merchantable timber.
The 2021 British Columbia wildfires burned across the Canadian province of British Columbia. The severity of the 2021 wildfire season is believed to have been caused by a "perfect storm" of environmental factors exacerbated by human-caused climate change.
The Lytton Fire, also known as the Lytton Creek Fire, was a wildfire that began on June 30, 2021 just south of the village of Lytton in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. The fire destroyed much of Lytton and caused two civilian fatalities, announced July 3. Several missing residents, still unaccounted for at that time, were later located. The fire, one of the 2021 British Columbia wildfires throughout the province, was facilitated by the 2021 Western North America heat wave.
The White Rock Lake fire was a wildfire in Thompson-Nicola Regional District, British Columbia. It began July 13, 2021 as one of the 2021 B.C. wildfires and resulted in the destruction of Monte Lake. As of August 18, 2021 it totalled 81,139 hectares and was classified as out of control. Insured losses total an estimated $77 million Canadian, according to one agency, which in late September expected the number of claims to top 800, most of them related to residential property.
The 2021 Pacific Northwest floods were a series of floods that affected British Columbia, Canada, and parts of neighboring Washington state in the United States. The flooding and numerous mass wasting events were caused by a Pineapple Express, a type of atmospheric river, which brought heavy rain to parts of southern British Columbia and northwestern United States. The natural disaster prompted a state of emergency for the province of British Columbia.
The 2023 Washington wildfire season officially began in March 2023 in the US state of Washington.
The 2023 Alberta wildfires are a series of ongoing wildfires in the province of Alberta, Canada as part of the 2023 Canadian wildfires, as of 20 May 2023 have burned over 842,000 hectares. This May 20 situation includes 91 active wildfires throughout the province, 25 of them out of control. Multiple communities have been placed under evacuation orders, resulting in over 29,000 people being evacuated. On May 6, the province of Alberta declared a provincial state of emergency.
Beginning in March 2023, and with increased intensity starting in June, Canada has been affected by an ongoing, record-setting series of wildfires. As the worst wildfire season in recorded Canadian and North American history surpassing the record held by the 2020 California wildfires, all thirteen provinces and territories have been affected, with large fires in Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. On June 25, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre declared the 2023 wildfire season was the worst in Canada's recorded history, surpassing the 1989, 1995, and 2014 fire seasons.
