300 wildfires blaze, another evacuation order issued in B.C.

A regional politician in British Columbia’s Interior is calling for more support amid a “dire” wildfire situation that he says has filled every available hotel with fleeing evacuees and stretched local security resources beyond their capacity.

Ken Gillis, who chairs the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, says the district has put in a request with Emergency Management B.C. for an additional 100 to 150 personnel.

Gillis signed three additional evacuation orders over the weekend and had to direct the final batch of evacuees to find their way to Kelowna, more than 100 kilometres away because of the lack of accommodations in closer communities .

Roughly 300 wildfires are burning across British Columbia and new evacuation orders were issued for properties in several regions.

The BC Wildfire Service currently lists the wildfire danger as high to extreme across most of the southern half of B.C., while cool, damp weather has significantly dropped the danger rating in the northern half.

Thirty-seven blazes, 12 per cent of all B.C. fires, are rated as highly visible or a threat to life or property.