Following news earlier this week that British Columbia’s 2018 wildfire season was on track to becoming the province’s second worst fire on record, a new update reveals that this season has already surpassed the previous record holder – last year’s wildfire season – in terms of land burned.

The BC government extended the provincial state of emergency Wednesday following reports that 12,984 square kilometres of the province had burned (as of Tuesday). By contrast, last year’s wildfire season saw 12,161 square kilometres of land burn.

The extended state of emergency will last until September 12.

CBC News reported that 534 fires continued to burn as of Wednesday. About 3,200 people have been removed due to the fires, while another 21,800 are on alert.

For this year, 1,467 fires were started by lightning strikes, while 443 were caused by human activity.

Scientists suggest that climate change has forced a shift in weather patterns, bringing warmer and drier weather to BC, as well as more lightning.

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