October 12, 2014
Graph of the Day: Forest area burned and number of forest fires in Canada, 2003-2013
(Natural Resources Canada) – In 2013, a total of 6,246 forest fires burned about 4.2 million hectares. The number of fires was about 10% lower than the 10-year average, yet the area burned was almost double the 10-year average. […] Quebec had an extremely active fire season, with about 1.8 million hectares burned – over 10 times the province’s 10-year average. […] When and where significant fire activity occurs varies greatly year to year. Analyses of fire trends are starting to show an increase in the annual variability of fire seasons, the number of fires, the amount of area burned, and the length of the fire season. More fire activity is now occurring before and after the peak fire months of June, July, and August.
