Trudeau to get aerial view of wildfire zones as flames shift rapidly
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to see the effect of British Columbia’s wildfires firsthand today as the situation continues to shift.
Trudeau, Premier John Horgan and several federal cabinet ministers are set to visit Williams Lake, where about 10,000 people were forced from their homes as flames threatened to cut access to highways.
The group includes sports minister and Delta MP Carla Qualtrough who has been put in charge of a committee to organize fire recovery efforts.
Trudeau and the others will meet with military and RCMP members from a command centre in Williams Lake. From there they are scheduled to visit the fire centre and get an aerial tour of the fire zone.
Williams Lake residents have been returning home for the past few days after being ordered to leave more than two weeks ago.
Others in the region remain out of their homes after a flurry of evacuation orders issued late Saturday night and early Sunday morning.
Seventy-five kilometres south of 100 Mile House, residents of the village of Clinton and surrounding areas were forced from their homes because of flames that were “rapidly moving.”
The Cariboo Regional District has issued an expanded evacuation order for the Clisbako area, about 100 kilometres west of Quesnel.
It also issued an evacuation alert for a region south of Highway 24, north of the Green Lake area that is under an evacuation order.
Trudeau was in Revelstoke on Saturday, urging Canadians to donate to the Red Cross to aid in relief efforts for fire-ravaged B.C. communities.
“I know that once again, as we have in challenges in the past, Canadians will step up, stand together and show their compassion,” Trudeau said.
Officials fear high temperatures and a chance for lightning could increase fire activity.
Environment Canada forecasts rising temperatures up to and above 30 C for the southern Interior in the coming week, and the B.C. Wildfire Service has said the forests are much drier than normal.