Wildfire Evacuations, Emergency Alert in British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewn

"In a briefing last night, I received word that we'll be facing a few days of very difficult weather in the interior."

"We have reached a critical point."

"Based on the advice of emergency management and wildfire officials, in my briefing last night on the worsening weather, I am declaring a provincial state of emergency."

"It will address the potential for a mass evacuation scenario and provide our government with the means to secure the accommodation spaces necessary to support the evacuees."

"What is forecast may lead to more severe fire behaviour, and the potential for more evacuations."

"Contact friends and family to ensure you have somewhere to go, should the worst happen."

"While the province will continue to support anyone in need of emergency support services, having a plan ... (shows) that I care for those who have no other option."

"[Clean up properties...] Whether that's trimming trees, clearing grass and gutters and helping your neighbours, you're not only helping to protect your property and those of your community, but also the firefighters who may be called on to protect it." 

Mike Farnworth, Public Safety Minister, British Columbia 

"We are expecting what we call a ‘subtropical feed’ coming up from the United States which is going to bring significant wind into the South Coast Fire Centre and to the Interior of the province."

"What this means is that we are going to see our efforts on the fires that are on the landscape challenged, our control lines will be challenged and we have the potential to see significant fire behaviour across the province and particularly in the southern half of the province where the conditions remain extremely dry, and extremely volatile."

Clint Chapman, British Columbia Wildfire Service

A BC Wildfire Service crew loads gear into a truck before heading out just before 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday to battle Kamloops-area wildfires. The Kamloops-Thompson school district and BC Wildfire Service worked out the logistics for the wildfire camp to occupy the land where Parkcrest elementary once stood, until it was razed by a fire in September 2019. The school will be rebuilt, with completion pegged for 2024. Photograph By Dave Eagles/KTW

 British Columbia has declared a state of emergency reflecting the unusual heat record just smashed in Lytton, B.C. when the temperature reached a startling 49.4C, followed by a wildfire that wiped out the town and hundreds of other wildfires erupting over the next few days. The growing wildfires send warning signals of threats to human habitation making it clear that evacuations are in order. What may be different this time around is the possibility of mass evacuations and the challenge of securing sufficient accommodation for evacuees.

The warning that weather conditions would continue sparking fires that will turn into severe wildfire hazards threatening the interior of the province has mobilized government resources to act preemptively. Declaring a state of emergency means government agencies such as the fire commissioner and the RCMP have the authority to take action they consider to be required to fight the wildfires while protecting local communities and their inhabitants.

 

Looking high above the small town of Osoyoos B.C. in the southern Okanagan the glow of smoke and fire illuminates the night sky on Thursday July 19, 2018. At least 160 properties have been ordered to evacuate as an aggressive wildfire burns in the south Okanagan. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff Bassett

An estimated 300 fires were blazing across the province, several encroaching on nearby communities for which evacuation orders or alerts have been issued, consequently. Of the evacuation orders, 40 affected roughly 5,700 people equating to close to 2,900 properties in the province. In addition to which 69 evacuation alerts which inform people they must be prepared to flee immediately on short notice, affecting just under 33,000 people and their 16,000 properties were also issued.

Hot and dry conditions continue to be forecasted, and heightened wind activity in the Interior and affecting south-eastern British Columbia are driving the wildfires. Four First Nations in Manitoba have been evacuated as a result of wildfires in the east of that province, with over 1,300 people from Pauingassi, Little Grand Rapids, Bloodvein and Berens River First Nations being sent to Winnipeg and Brandon, Manitoba.

A night view of the massive Sparks Lake fire. The fire started about 40 kilometres northwest of Kamloops and has grown to almost 48,000 hectares as of July 20, 2021 - Contributed