BC extending state of emergency due to wildfire risk across province

The BC government has announced the current province-wide state of emergency will be extended for a further seven days until Saturday, August 29th due to the ongoing risk of wildfires.

The Province says this extension follows advice from emergency-management officials and will help ensure the government will continue to have access to emergency powers under the Emergency and Disaster Management Act if they are required.

As of this publication, no emergency orders have needed to be issued under the state of emergency to respond to the current wildfire situation. 

Despite not having to issue any emergency orders, the Province says that maintaining the state of emergency ensures the tools needed to respond quickly will remain available as wildfire conditions continue to evolve.

The state of emergency was declared on August 8th as wildfires burned throughout the province. 

Of particular concern was the Bald Range wildfire between Summerland and Peachland in the southern Okanagan.

When the state of emergency was declared more than 20,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes as the wildfire encroached on populated areas. 

“While most people have returned home, thousands of people in BC continue to be on evacuation alerts and orders, and wildfire risk in the Okanagan region and other parts of the province remains elevated due to warm and dry conditions,” said the Province in a media release. 

The BC government is urging residents to remain prepared and stay alert to changing wildfire conditions.

People are encouraged to have emergency plans in place and make sure everyone in the family knows what to do in case of an evacuation alert or order.

Furthermore, residents can pre-register for Emergency Support Services (ESS) through the BC Services Card app or the ESS website.

Packing grab-and-go bags for each member of the household is encouraged, including ones for pets. These bags should have medications, important papers, phone chargers, water, food and clothes. The Province recommends keeping bags at home, at work and/or in the car.

There are currently 124 wildfires across BC, with 19 on Vancouver Island. Of Vancouver Island’s fires, only two are considered ‘out of control’ by the BC Wildfire Service.