Vancouver Island wildfires down this year due to favorable weather, diligence and fire smart communities [Video]

The Old Man Lake wildfire near Sooke is the only one currently burning on Vancouver Island. It’s a region of the province that this year saw a drastic drop in blazes in the backcountry.

“Our 10-year average on Vancouver Island is 75 fires in a season and this year on the island we’ve had 47,” said Alyssa Cheverie, a fire information officer with the Coastal Fire Centre.

Those numbers can be attributed to a few factors, including favourable weather following a two-week heat event in early July.

“After that there were some heat blips but it wasn’t anything compared to what we saw last year, where it was much warmer and much dryer over the province,” said Ken Dosanjh, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The Coastal Fire Centre said more fires are being reported earlier and that is giving crews the chance to knock them down quicker. …