In a live press conference Monday, the provincial government announced the temporary limit on gas purchases in British Columbia has been extended until December 14th.
The current measure, put in place to prioritize fuel for essential vehicles after severe flooding across the province, limits non-essential vehicles to 30 litres of fuel (gas and diesel) per trip.
Last week, Environment and Climate Change Canada issued weather alerts for a series of storms across British Columbia, which arrived late Wednesday, November 25th and continued through to this week.
See more: Multiple weather warnings have been issued for both BC’s interior and coastal areas
In addition to the extension to gas purchase limits, the provincial state of emergency has also been extended to the end of the day on December 14th. This is due to continued threats of flooding and continued need of public safety measures under the Emergency Program Act.
“People in our province have been affected by the devastating floods and while we’re making major progress in our recovery, we’re still in a volatile situation,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.
“I want to thank British Columbians for doing their part so that essential vehicles can continue to operate. The fuel conservation measures are working but with another storm on its way, we are extending the order to ensure that we prioritize emergency services for another two weeks.”
At this time, residents are asked to avoid all non-essential travel during the upcoming storms, to keep themselves and others safe as well as assist with road work and emergency vehicle access.
If you are unsure of whether your reason for travel is considered essential, you can view a list of essential travel reasons here.
The province has provided resources for residents with information on preparing for severe weather and flooding.
To stay up to date with BC’s public weather alerts visit Environment and Climate Change Canada’s website.
Environment Canada has issued another rainfall warning for parts of Vancouver Island slated to last until Wednesday.
According to the weather agency, a new ‘atmospheric river’ weather system is expected to bring heavy rains starting Monday night and lasting through to Wednesday — rainfall will total between 100 to 200mm.
