They say a large proportion of the forests that burned this year were affected by the mountain pine beetle about a decade ago. The mountain pine beetle epidemic affected more than 180,000 square kilometres. In B.C., about 40 to 50 per cent of the area that burned this year was ravaged by the mountain pine beetle in the early 2000s, he said. "The past two years the big, big wildfire seasons have affected disproportionately the areas that were mountain pine beetle affected." "The mountain pine beetle pretty much ate itself out of house and home in British Columbia," he said.

Source: CBC News September 22, 2018 22:07 UTC