British Columbia (BC) Crisis Management Minister Bowin Maa announced on August 31 that the statewide state of emergency will be extended by two weeks due to the bushfires and drought conditions. The state of emergency was issued on August 18, giving the state greater powers to respond to disasters.
Ma said rainfall in some areas in recent weeks has helped fight the wildfires, but nowhere in the state has enough rainfall to improve the drought situation. Currently, 4,200 people in BC have been ordered to evacuate and 65,000 have been advised to evacuate. According to the BC Wildfire Service, there were 417 wildfires underway in the state as of August 31, of which about 188 were out of control and 12 were “notable wildfires.”
Ma said there were positive signs in the situation, but the threat of wildfires was still high, especially in the northeastern part of the state, where unseasonably high temperatures were expected. All campfires will be banned in the Northwest Fire Centre area from the afternoon of the 31st.
The state of emergency has been declared for two weeks, but it may be renewed or lifted. This declaration is valid until September 14th.