Provincewide state of emergency declared
Majority of soldiers being deployed to help with wildfires expected to be sent to Okanagan
VICTORIA — British Columbia’s public safety minister says he hopes the province’s wildfire situation is not the new normal but the issue of climate change and its impact on forests must be taken into account.
“Obviously we know that climate is changing, we know that the fire season is starting earlier . . . we have been doing planning earlier, getting aircraft earlier, but it is a situation that we have to take seriously, the issue of climate change,” Mike Farnworth said Wednesday shortly after the government declared a provincewide state of emergency in response to hundreds of wildfires.
It’s the second time in as many years that a state of emergency has been declared during the wildfire season and the fourth time in just over two decades. Provincial states of emergency were also declared in 1996 and 2003.
The BC Wildfire Service said 559 fires were burning Wednesday in all corners of the province, with 31 new starts since Tuesday. Just over 1,800 blazes have been recorded since the wildfire season began April 1.
The latest state of emergency will remain in effect for 14 days but can be extended or rescinded as necessary, Farnworth said, adding it ensures federal, provincial and local resources can be delivered in a co-ordinated manner.
The province is waiting for the arrival of 200 Armed Forces members. Kevin Skrepnek of the Wildfire Service said most of them would likely be sent to the Okanagan to help with wildfire mop-up.
In the North Okanagan, access to Crown lands near the Mabel Creek and Sugar Mountain wildfires has been restricted. Only people travelling to and from their properties, cabins or farms, and officials are allowed in the restricted areas.
The Mabel Creek wildfire is about 47 kilometres east of Salmon Arm and covers about 1,861 hectares.
The Sugar Mountain wildfire is about 59 kilometres northeast of Vernon and covers about 332 hectares.
In northwestern B.C., a 333-square-kilometre fire has destroyed more than 40 homes and properties in and around Telegraph Creek, said Forests Minister Doug Donaldson. Nearly a dozen agencies including firefighters from local First Nations and crews from outside the province were working to save homes in the community, he said.
“This state of emergency improves our ability to increase that co-ordination as we see risk increasing in other communities,” he said.
Farnworth, who is also the province’s solicitor general, said the emergency was declared based on recommendations from the BC Wildfire Service and emergency management officials.
“As wildfire activity is expected to increase, this is a progressive step in our wildfire response to make sure British Columbia has access to any and all resources necessary,” he added.
Skrepnek said more than 1,500 properties were on evacuation order at midday Wednesday and at least 10,000 were on an alert, with residents advised to be ready to leave on short notice.
“Certainly, given the number of fires we have going on right now, given the fire activity we are seeing out there, and given the fact that we really see no relief from the weather, there’s definitely the potential this season is going to get worse before it gets better,” he said.
The RCMP said Wednesday it would send officers and equipment to assist detachments in central, northern and southern B.C. that have been most affected by fires, which could include vehicles, supplies and additional officers to help at checkpoints or provide relief to local detachments.
By this time last year, hundreds of homes had been lost to wildfires and tens of thousands of people had been displaced. The human cost has not been as high this year, but the total number of fires is greater, said Skrepnek.
Environment Canada issued air-quality advisories for much of B.C. and all of Alberta as smoke from the fires drifts east.
The dense smoke also made it more difficult to find fires that were sparked by lightning last weekend, said Skrepnek.
“We can almost guarantee that there are fires out there that haven’t been detected yet,” he said.