B.C. lifts state of emergency over wildfires

Danger remains, minister says

VANCOUVER — The provincial state of emergency has been lifted in British Columbia, more than two months after thousands of residents were chased from their homes and hundreds of buildings were lost in ferocious wildfires that set records for destruction.

The state of emergency that expired at midnight Friday was declared July 7 after dozens of out-ofcontrol wildfires broke out in the Interior. At the peak of the disaster, almost 50,000 residents were staying with family members or living in shelters, hotels and campgrounds.

Forests Minister Doug Donaldson said Friday that fire and emergency crews, along with volunteers, provided a “phenomenal effort” through the fire season that continues to threaten some parts of the province.

“We still have certain areas in certain regions facing volatile situations, and we’re continuing to actively and vigorously fight the fires in those areas,” he said.

For areas returning to regular life, Donaldson said recovery efforts to get logging, tourism, agriculture and other industries running are underway.

The state of emergency allowed for better co-ordination between agencies responding to the fires and to public safety needs, and a $100-million fund was made available to support thousands of evacuees.

Donaldson said $21 million of that fund has been delivered to approximately 52,000 people.

Some of those residents lost their homes. Emergency Management B.C. said 509 structures were lost and 229 of those were residences.

Over 11,900 square kilometres of land has been charred since April 1, which the B.C. Wildfire Service said is the largest area burned in the province’s recorded history. There are still 155 fires burning in B.C., and 11 evacuation orders are in place affecting more than 3,000 people.

Chief fire information officer Kevin Skrepnek said cooling temperatures and rain in the forecast should reduce the severity of those blazes.

Meanwhile, damp, cool weather Friday was helping firefighting efforts in southwestern Alberta, near the B.C. border. The wildfire in Waterton Lakes National Park area remained at about 360 square kilometres, officials said.

Parks Canada cautioned that the fire was still out of control and that risks remained.

John Barlow, member of Parliament for the area, said he did a flyover of the park this week.

“I have to say, the damage to Waterton is devastating,” he said in a Facebook video. “It looks like about 30 per cent of the park has been severely damaged by the fire. About 70 per cent of the forested area has been lost.”