$720M in damage from Okanagan, Shuswap wildfires most costly in BC history

The insured damage from the wildfires in the Okanagan and Shuswap this summer has topped $720 million making the fires the most costly insured event in BC history.

The McDougall Creek wildfire in the Central Okanagan resulted in $480 million in damages, while the Bush Creek East wildfire in the Shuswap came in at $240 million, according to an Insurance Bureau of Canada media release issued yesterday, Oct. 3.

"This year's wildfire season has broken all records in terms of the amount of land burned and damage caused to homes and businesses in BC," Aaron Sutherland with the insurance bureau said in the release.

"The wildfires' impact is another tragic reminder of the risk BC residents face due to climate change and the increasing frequency of natural catastrophes."

The two wildfires combined ranked as the 10th most costly natural disaster in Canadian history, according to data from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc.

The insurance bureau said the combined losses far eclipsed the $200 million in damages caused by Kelowna's Okanagan Mountain Park Wildfire in 2003.

Topping the list of most costly disasters in Canada is the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire at $4.3 billion.

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