A Kamloops-based hotel owner says it’s not just his hotels here that are helping house wildfire evacuees.

Ron Mundi says the two hotels his company has in Prince George are completely full, and about two-thirds of guests are evacuees… with many from the southern Cariboo and areas near Kamloops.

Mundi says more than 100 rooms at his Coast Hotel in Kamloops are being used for evacuees.

“We have more than 50 per cent of evacuees in our building, for the Coast Hotel. And I think, and most of the hotels, are filled up with evacuees. It’s kind of a sad part, but we’re trying to do our best. And anything we can do to help, we will.”

With commercial lodging almost completely unavailable in the Kamloops area, Mundi says he’s heard of fire evacuees travelling to Vancouver as well.

B.C.’s Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth, while declaring a provincial state of emergency on Tuesday, said about 130 wildfire evacuees were in Prince George as of last week.

“We recognize there needs to be a significant number of (ESS) centres possible. And this is one of those areas that if we do have to have a significant evacuation taking place, because of fires that occur that cause that, then we want to make sure those spaces are there. This state of provincial emergency will, in fact, ensure that takes place.”

As of end of day on Tuesday, there were 3,078 properties under an evacuation order in the province and 16,225 properties on alert. The BC Wildfire Service says there have been 1,163 wildfires this year that have burned 330,652 hectares.