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B.C. wildfires: Satellite photos reveal damage can be seen from space

Click to play video: 'On the Fireline: Inside Canada’s record-breaking wildfire season'
On the Fireline: Inside Canada’s record-breaking wildfire season
The wildfire season in Canada has been devastating and the largest in modern history. And with climate change, wildfire seasons will only get worse. Experts say to reduce the damage in the future, we need to change the way we manage fires before they even start. As Neetu Garcha shows us, 'The New Reality' was granted rare access to crews working on the fireline. – Sep 30, 2023

Wildfires that raged across British Columbia this year have left lasting marks on the environment.

A satellite called Copernicus took images of the fire-scarred land — red-brown areas marking where wildfires destroyed significant landmarks and vegetation.

Provincial and federal wildfire agencies used a mix of European and NASA satellite instruments to help monitor and predict fire behaviours during this record-breaking fire season.

Click to play video: 'FireSmart BC releases new education program'
FireSmart BC releases new education program

Additionally, images on NASA’s Worldview website show before and after images of the Kelowna area before the McDougall Creek wildfire. One image was taken in July, with another six weeks after the blaze ignited on Aug. 15.

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According to the B.C. Wildfire Service, 2,221 wildfires have consumed 2.84 million hectares of land as of Oct. 3.

Satellite photos showing the Central Okanagan on July 30, 2023, then on Sept. 20, 2023. NASA Worldview

By 2029, Canada will have its own wildfire-specific satellite – WildFireSat.

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According to the federal government, the satellite will “monitor all active wildfires in Canada from space on a daily basis.”

“Every year, Canada sees about 7,500 wildfires burn over 2.5 million hectares of forest, a territory about half the size of Nova Scotia,” it added. “The amount of forest burned by wildfire is projected to double by 2050 due to our changing climate, which is causing longer wildfire seasons, more extreme weather conditions and increased droughts.”

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The government also said three per cent of wildfires are very large and uncontrolled.

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“Ultimately, these three per cent of wildfires cause about 97 per cent of the burned area,” it said.

“By increasing our capabilities to better anticipate which wildfires have the potential to burn out of control, they can be prioritized for suppression, leading to a drastic reduction in the economic losses related to wildfire.”

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