Approximately 8,000 people have been ordered to evacuate in B.C. as 120 wildfires continue to rage especially in the south of the province, according to officials.
Officials said that high temperatures, dry weather, and possible upcoming lightning strikes could lead to more fires later in the week, with Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Kelly Greene noting that another 37 evacuation alerts applying to roughly 7,100 people and 3,800 properties are also in effect.
Whereas an evacuation order directs residents to leave immediately, an alert notifies them to be ready to leave on short notice.
“Please follow all evacuation orders and instructions from local officials and leave the area immediately,” Greene said during a media briefing Aug. 4, adding that people who stay behind can endanger first responders or be unreachable if fires worsen.
Describing the devastation in his community near Vernon, B.C., Okanagan Indian Band Chief Dan Wilson said the area “looked like a war zone” and that 30 band homes and 200 non-band homes have been destroyed by the Bradley Creek Fire.
Provincial officials said they could not independently confirm Wilson’s figures because complete damage assessments had not yet been conducted.
“The last thing I want is for somebody to learn that they lost their home on the evening news,” she said.
Greene said she is not aware of any fatalities as a result of the fires, while executive director of emergency response and recovery with B.C.’s Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Kevin Dunbar said some areas of the province are still too dangerous for crews to enter to assess the damage.
The Bradley Creek fire began July 31 and was spread by winds up to 115 kilometres per hour, with some residents having as little as five minutes to evacuate their homes.
Greene said the locations and quantity of evacuation orders and alerts are changing by the hour and noted that more than 5,700 evacuees are currently getting assistance such as housing, food, and clothing via B.C.’s Emergency Support Services program.
International Help
Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said 15 of the 120 active wildfires as of the morning of Aug. 4 had been reported in the past 24 hours.
He added that 1,000 personnel are directly helping the province fight the fires, including members of the B.C. Wildfire Service, local firefighters, and structural protection crews whose focus is stopping buildings from lighting on fire rather than directly combatting the wildfires.
Parmar said that 100 firefighters from Mexico arrived Aug. 3, while B.C. Wildfire Service director of provincial operations Cliff Chapman said the first group of Mexican firefighters would be sent to the Cariboo Fire Centre to help fight fires near Clinton, B.C., and 70 Mile House, B.C.
Chapman said B.C. was bringing in as many as 600 out-of-province and international personnel, who would allow tired B.C. crews to take a break after working extremely long hours for several weeks in a row.
The forests minister added that the hundreds more personnel are expected to arrive this week, including crews from Australia, along with firefighters and personnel from Alberta, P.E.I., the Yukon, Quebec, as well as the federally funded Canadian Forest Service.
Chapman also warned that conditions could get worse again beginning Aug. 6, particularly in southern areas of the Cariboo, Kamloops, and southeast where drought conditions are present.
“I anticipate that this weekend we are going to see more starts in B.C., and there may be more challenging fires ahead,” Chapman said.
In response to media questions about criticism that some local fire departments have been waiting for provincial permission before defending buildings from fires, Chapman denied this, saying “they don’t need a green light from B.C. Wildfire Service” and can start suppressing and putting out fires as long as it is safe for responders.
Greene said B.C. has not yet declared a provincewide state of emergency because local states of emergency are giving authorities enough power to take action as needed. She added that a provincial declaration could enable measures such as travel restrictions, rationing supplies, or commandeering accommodation.
Chapman said that closing the backcountry is also not being considered at this time, but he urged anybody in the backcountry to report fires, with Parmar noting that campfires continue to be banned for much of southern B.C.
Dunbar said the province did not currently require the same measures used in August 2023, when accommodation shortages led B.C. to restrict non-essential travel for the purpose of having temporary lodging in several communities in the B.C. interior.
In 2023, roughly 2,245 wildfires burned approximately 2.8 million hectares of land in B.C., fully or partially destroying 600 residences and leading to evacuation orders being issued for roughly 48,000 people. The cost of fighting the 2023 fires was estimated at approximately $1.095 billion, according to the province.
Officials urged residents to monitor evacuation updates and have emergency plans and grab bags ready, as well as to register ahead of time with Emergency Support Services.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
