As wildfires continue to spread and cause massive evacuations across the province, BC has decided it is necessary to extend the state of emergency into September.
Initially, the state of emergency was implemented on July 10th and was only going to last 14 days with hopes of the situation taking a turn for the better, but most wildfires have only worsened since that time.
Now, the province has extended the state of emergency until September 14th; although it can still be rescinded or extended at the government’s will.
What the state of emergency extension means for British Columbians is that travel has been restricted for the purpose of temporary accommodation, meaning tourists aren’t supposed to be traversing the province and staying in hotels.
On August 25th, BC rescinded this specific emergency order, but if things get bad again, the government can easily issue another emergency order with ease while under a state of emergency.
“While many people have returned home, tens of thousands of British Columbians remain under evacuation order or alert due to wildfires,” said Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness.
“We’re continually assessing the situation — which can evolve quickly — and will enact emergency orders to ensure the safety of people in our province as needed.”
Related:
- Here’s how Vancouver Islanders can help those displaced by BC wildfires
- Monday lightning storm ignites at least 18 new wildfires on Vancouver Island
BC says recent rains have helped the coastal regions recover from the looming smoke, although thunderstorms ignited 48 new wildfires in 48 hours earlier this week.
Northern BC has not had any recent precipitation and continues to be plagued with unseasonably warm temperatures, dry conditions, smoke and strong winds, which could lead to extreme fire behaviour.
The Donnie Creek wildfire is particularly at risk of becoming explosive and is already BC’s largest wildfire on record at over 580,000.
Over 4,200 are evacuated from their homes and nearly 65,000 are on evacuation alert and may have to leave their homes behind at a moment’s notice.
As of this publication, there are 419 wildfires in BC, 28 of those being on Vancouver Island.
BC says the province has over 3,500 personnel directly engaged in wildfire response efforts, including BC Wildfire Service crews, contract firefighters and fire crews from Mexico, South Africa, Australia, Ontario and the Canadian Armed Forces.
With Meta limiting the reach of news and media outlets on their platforms due to Canada’s Bill C-18, otherwise known as the Online News Act, it can be tough to have access to all of Victoria Buzz’s news and stories.
But it doesn’t have to be! Sign up for our daily newsletter to have all the latest news delivered straight to your email’s inbox.
