B.C.’s old-growth forests by the numbers

SAANICH, B.C. – British Columbia’s old-growth forests boast huge trees that are more than 1,000 years old, but many fear their days are numbered. Here are some numbers on the trees:

— The government says there are 55 million hectares of forests in B.C.

— Twenty-five million hectares are old-growth forests.

— Four million hectares of old-growth hectares are fully protected from logging.

— The Red Creek fir near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island is listed as the world’s largest Douglas fir tree at 73.8 metres tall and its trunk has a diameter of 4.2 metres.

— The Cheewaht Lake cedar in Pacific Rim National Park on the southwest edge of Vancouver Island has a circumference of 18.34 metres. It is estimated to be between 2,000 and 2,500 years old.

SOURCE: B.C. government, B.C. Big Tree Registry.