State of Emergency declared as Wildfire Crews continue to work multiple fires across the province

The BC Wildfire Map shows the extent of the ongoing battle with
Wildfires across the Province as of August 15th

The Provincial Government has declared a State of Emergency in the province as it looks to support the crews working the ongoing wildfire situation that is in place in many parts of the province.

Mike Farnworth, the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General made the declaration following consultations with BC Wildfire and Emergency Management officials.

"Public safety is always our first priority and, 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,"  ... "Taking this step will further ensure we can protect the public, property and infrastructure, and assist with firefighting efforts."

The State of Emergency will be in effect for the next 14 days and may be rescinded or extended depending on the situation on August 29th.

In their statement of today, the Province noted that: 

The state of emergency gives agencies, such as the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, Emergency Management BC, the fire commissioner and the RCMP, the authority to take every action necessary to fight the wildfires and protect people and communities.

As of yesterday there were 566 wildfires burning in the province, with 29 evacuation orders having been issued, along with 48 evacuation alerts.

So far 3,050 residents have been forced from their homes due to the wildfires, while another 18,720 have been put on alert.

A large number of the fires are burning to the north and south of the Highway 16 corridor between Prince Rupert and Prince George.

More than 3,372 firefighters and contractors are engaged in the fire suppression work, with reinforcements coming to the province from Alberta, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories,Quebec, Saskatchewan and Parks Canada.

International help has also arrived from Australia, New Zealand and Mexico

Earlier this week, the Province asked for the support of the Canadian Forces with a call to Ottawa for troops and air assets to assist in the fire fighting efforts.

Those resources are to arrive in the province in the coming days.

Doug Donaldson, the Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resources and Rural Development took note of those reinforcements and asked for caution in the province to reduce the impact of any human caused fires.

“Given the unpredictable behaviour of wildfires and the number of significant wildfires in all areas of the province, we're bringing in the additional resources we need to keep people and communities as safe as possible,”  ... “We’re asking British Columbians to do their part and follow burning bans and restrictions to prevent human-caused fires.”

The BC Wildfire Map outlines the extent of the fires in a large swath of the province from Northwest to Southeast, the list of Wildfires of Note provides more background on the work facing crews in the province.

You can review the latest notes from the fires of Northwest British Columbia from our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review