The number of wildfires caused by people has gone down for the second year in a row, according to the latest numbers from the provincial government.

In its annual review of this year’s forest fire season, the Department of Fisheries, Forestry, and Agriculture says there were 67 recorded fires caused by people. A total of 90 forest fires were followed by forestry officials.

That number is down from last year’s total of 88 fires and almost half of the statistic in 2018, which saw some 128 forest fires caused by people.

Wildfires burned 4,231 hectares of land this year, the vast majority of which—about 95 per cent—resulted from lightning strikes in remote parts of Labrador.

This year’s report is well under the provincial 10-year average of 109 fires and 30,655 hectares burned.