Unofficial figures show the provincial snowpack near "average" levels as 2024 ends, but conditions vary across regions as officials continue their preparations for the 2025 wildfire season.  

Figures from automated snow weather stations released Dec. 15 show many regions of the province at or above historical averages for this time of year, with some regions well above them. The Liard region in B.C.'s northeastern corner leads the way with 183 per cent, followed by the Boundary region (153 per cent) and Vancouver Island (143 per cent). 

Other regions, however, recorded below-average snow levels with the Central Coast (64 per cent), Nechako (68 per cent) and Similkameen (69 per cent) making up the bottom rung. 

These figures, however, come with a caveat. They are not official measures of the provincial snow pack, because they use a different methodology than the official snow bulletins, which also include manual snow surveys. 

B.C.'s River Forecast Centre plans to release its first official snow bulletin on Jan. 9 or Jan. 10, 2025, with figures reflecting conditions as measured on Jan. 1

While not readily comparable, the unofficial figures for December 2024 and the first official snow bulletin of 2024 show considerable differences. On Jan. 1, 2024, the provincial snow pack level was at 44 per cent below normal thanks to well-below-normal precipitation and well-above-normal temperatures. 

These unofficial figures appear against the provincial government releasing its year-end-statistics. They show that 1,688 wildfires have burnt about 1.08 million hectares since April 1. Lightning caused more than 70 per cent of fires, with humans responsible for less than 30 per cent. A small figure remains undetermined. Officials issued 51 evacuations orders for more than 4,100 properties in 2024. Another 112 evacuation alerts impacted more than 11,600 properties. 

These figures rank 2024 below the historic wildfire season of 2023 when British Columbia experienced 2,245 wildfires that burnt more than 2.84 million hectares, more than double the amount during any previous year on record. Wildfires in 2023 also led to mass scale evacuations in the Okanagan, Shuswap and northern regions. Six firefighters also lost their lives. 

But if 2024 lacked the ferocity of 2023, it still ranks as the fourth-largest wildfire season on record. 

B.C.'s Forests Minister Ravi Parmar says wildfire seasons are getting longer in putting more pressure on people, communities and surrounding ecosystems. Parmar's ministry responsible for BC Wildfire Service has accordingly been adding more resources. They include not only more equipment, but also plans for a wildfire training and education centre in Kamloops. 

B.C.'s Emergency Minister Kelly Greene says government has also applied from previous wildfire seasons to improve support for evacuees, adding that the growing impact of climate change on people's lives require a more proactive response. 

Officials are currently monitoring conditions, especially in the northeast corner of the province, where weather conditions may contribute to holdover fires burning deep underground only to re-emerge in the spring. 

These fires have entered popular imagination as so-called 'zombie fires' because of their nature.