Downed power lines are seen on a pickup truck in an area burned by the Lower East Adams Lake wildfire. (Photo via Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)
The B.C. government has extended its provincial state of emergency due to wildfires by another two weeks.
Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma says it comes as there are still 4,200 people on evacuation order with 65,000 others on evacuation alert across the province.
“The weather we experienced in the southern part of the province over the last number of days is a sign that we are slowly moving beyond the worst part of this wildfire season,” she said. “But we must approach this with a balanced prospective.”
“The rain provided our firefighters with a chance to breathe but we are still far from being in the clear.”
The state of emergency, which was declared on Aug. 18, is now set to expire on Sept. 14.
It allows the province to enact emergency orders, like the short-lived ban on non-essential travel to six Interior communities, including Kamloops.
The Province says there are more than 3,500 personnel directly engaged in wildfire response efforts. That includes BC Wildfire Service staff, contract personnel, as well as personnel from Mexico, South Africa, Australia, Ontario, and the Canadian Armed Forces.
