Overview

• On August 5 and 6, the BC Wildfire Service issued formal warnings and shared two AI-generated images that overstate wildfire size and distort terrain details.
• The examples include dramatic depictions of aircraft battling blazes that do not match actual fire perimeters or behavior.
• One image was first posted on July 31 by a self-described digital creator about the Drought Hill fire near Peachland and later labeled for “illustrative purposes only.”
• BCWS cautioned that misleading visuals heighten public anxiety and could cause people to mistake fabricated scenes for real emergencies.
• Residents are urged to verify wildfire information through the BC Wildfire Service app, official website, local emergency alerts, radio stations or recognized news outlets.