Answer: c

In BC, the most common cause of wildfire is lightning, which causes about 60% of all wildfires each year. The remaining 40% of wildfires are human caused, including:

• Open burning – which includes burning garbage in barrels, pits or furnaces
• Arson
• Vehicle and engine use
• Industrial activity – includes land clearing, timber processing and mining
• Fireworks, sky-lanterns, outdoor flame lighting
• Discarding burning items like cigarettes

Answer: d

The 2023 wildfire season was the most destructive in British Columbia's recorded history. Over 2.84 million hectares of forest and land burned, about the same size as the whole of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. That’s almost 5% of all forests in BC and over double the area that was burned during any previous year on record. Tens of thousands of people were forced to evacuate and hundreds of homes and structures were lost or damaged.

Answer: d

Canada has firefighting agreements with the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa and Costa Rica. In 2023 with so much fire activity, Canada looked beyond that agreement and sought help from firefighters from Brazil, France and South Korea.

Answer: c

Carried by the wind, embers travel on average 2km, and can instantly ignite if they fall on the right fuel. There have been documented evidence of embers travelling 17km! FireSmart™ BC’s FireSmart Begins at Home Guide notes embers are the most likely cause of a wildfire destroying a property, with around 50% of homes destroyed by wildfires ignited by embers. Many homeowners assume because their property is not close to a forest, they do not need to be prepared for a wildfire, but this is a mistake because of the threat of embers.

Answer: b

Zombie fires are fires that refuse to die. They appear to snuff out as winter hits Canada but these flameless fires smoulder deep under Canadian snow, then get reborn into wildfires come spring and summer. And yes, BC endured a record number of zombie fires last year.

Answer: d

Since January 1, there have been eight new wildfires start, and there are numerous holdover wildfires smouldering underneath winter snow cover, so wildfires are always being monitored and controlled. Due to climate change, the increase in wildfires is surprisingly more year-round than many people think. Part of that reason is less snow than in years past. As of the snow bulletin on March 1, the average provincial snowpack is 34% less than normal, based on the average from 1991 to 2020. We’ve also experienced a drought since 2022 and the BC government says the amount of rain required to mitigate this drought is unlikely.

Answer: c

The four different levels of fire bans are:

• Category 1 campfires
• Category 2 open fires
• Category 3 open fires
• Category 4 resource management open fire

Find out more about these categories on the BC Government website.

Before you go camping or backwoods hiking, check the status of BC wildfires through BC Wildfire Services, and follow social media feeds like BC Wildfire Services on X.

Answer: a

FireSmart BC's Wildfire Mitigation Program promotes voluntary wildfire mitigation activities by offering you a free professional home assessment with property-specific recommendations that are backed by research to significantly lower your wildfire risk. Plus, property owners who complete the assessment can be eligible for a discount on BCAA Home Insurance.