Thursday, March 28, 2024

Wildfires continue to rage across BC (MAP & PHOTOS)

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July has brought hot, dry conditions to British Columbia and that, coupled with human error, has led to wildfires across the province.

The progress of many of the fires remains unpredictable, and their progress will rely heavily on current and future weather conditions.

A province-wide state of emergency is currently in effect.

Whether the Provincial Government will choose to bring in firefighting reinforcements such as the Martin Mars Water Bomber remains to be seen.

The owner of the tanker, Wayne Coulson, posted a statement to Facebook late on Sunday night saying that Coulson Aviation has offered support.

“On Saturday, we offered the B.C. Government our available aircraft and have heard nothing back as of tonight,” the statement said. “We have offered two Sikorsky S-61 heavy-lift helicopters, each with a 4000 litre capacity and one S-76 command and control helicopter that was in Australia this Spring and is approved to fight fire at night with our Night Vision Goggle capability.”

A MESSAGE FROM WAYNE COULSONI would like to thank the hundreds of concerned citizens that have contacted us over the…

Posted by Martin MARS – Coulson Flying Tankers on Sunday, July 9, 2017

However, if you’d like to help those affected by the fires, you can donate to the Red Cross by clicking here.

Fire Status Update:

As of Tuesday afternoon, 219 fires burned across BC. Live updates to severity and location of fires are available on the BC Wildfires Map.

Although the majority of fires currently causing problems are located in the Cariboo and Okanagan regions, several have also recently ignited in the Kootenays.

The screenshot below reflects the status of most of the fires as of 11:30 am on July 11.

Active Wildfires BC 11am cropped
Screenshot taken at 11:30 am

Fire legendThe large flames show “Fires of Note”

The red dots show “New Fires” – those less than 24 hrs old

The yellow dots show “Active Fires” – those that are not fires of note

Evacuations:

Over 14,000 people are estimated to have been displaced from their homes so far. That number may continue to rise.

The towns of 100 Mile House and Cache Creek have been evacuated entirely.

Williams Lake is the latest city to be put on evacuation alert. As of Tuesday, five fires were burning in the area.

Williams Lake Fires

Other hard-hit areas in BC include:

  • 100 Mile House
  • Princeton
  • Ashcroft
  • Thuya Lake Road
  • Dunn Lake
  • Quesnel
  • Harrison Lake East
  • Sutherland Road
  • Big Bend Creek
  • Tatelkuz Lake
  • Grizzly Lake
  • War Lake

RCMP Reinforcements:

Photos:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWSwEbghHcK/?tagged=bcfire

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWYPcdLhQmI/?tagged=bcfires

mm
Alistair Ogden
Former staff writer at Victoria Buzz.

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