Public Safety Minister Farnworth not ruling out another state of emergency due to wildfires

VICTORIA, B.C. -Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth isn’t ruling out the possibility of British Columbia entering another state of emergency, this time due to wildfires raging across the province.

“We may, depending on how the fire season starts to unfold, require a provincial state of emergency, such as we have seen in past fire seasons in this province,” said Farnworth.

Government officials including Premier John Horgan, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth, Deputy Minister of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resources, Rick Manwaring, and Ian Meier, Director of Operations for the BC Wildfire Service spoke to the media on Thursday regarding the wildfire activity across the province, including the “catastrophic” damage in Lytton.

“The Lytton Fire Department has been supported in their structural protection efforts by the office of the Fire Commissioner, the BC Wildfire Service and Fire Departments in the surrounding areas, from Boston Bar, Spences Bridge, Ashcroft and Merritt,” said Minister Farnworth.

“Despite these brave efforts, I have heard reports that most homes and structures in the village, as well as the ambulance station and the RCMP detachment, have been lost. I also understand that some residents have not been accounted for.”

Premier Horgan thanked the communities surrounding Lytton who have taken in evacuees.

“There’s nothing more Canadian in my mind than offering help and assistance when our neighbours need it.”

In the last 24 hours, 62 new fires started across British Columbia, says Horgan. According to the B.C. Wildfire Dashboard, there are 19 active fires in the Prince George Fire Centre.

Deputy Minister of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resources, Rick Manwaring explained how firefighting resources would be managed to respond to fires in various areas of the province.

“We planned well for this fire season. In the last 24 hours, one of the good pieces of information is along with the lightning, we received some pretty appreciable rainfall in the north half of the province,” said Manwaring. “That’s allowing us to flow resources, wildfire fighting resources, our staff from the north half of the province to the south.”

The province has put in a resource request with the federal government, says Manwaring.

“Our initial focus there will be on aircraft resources, which will help us move personnel and assist Emergency Management BC should we get into any challenging situations going forward.”

Manwaring says help through an inter-agency forest fire centre could deliver resources from international partners like Australia and Mexico.

“As part of this, if we do have resources coming into B.C., we’ve got rapid testing protocols in place for COVID-19 to ensure the safety of everyone coming in and everyone here that we may use for the firefighting effort.”

The fire was discovered on June 28th. The estimated size is 2,200 hectares (22 km²).

This wildfire is classified as out of control.

It is not an interface fire. Interface fires have the potential to involve buildings and forest fuel or vegetation simultaneously.

Lightning is the suspected cause. Last updated June 30th at 4:51 p.m.

Fire was detected north of the Buckinghorse River, beside Highway 97 North, near Pink Mountain on June 28th.

The fire, likely caused by lightning, has grown to an estimated 6,000 hectares (60 km²). It is classified as out of control, and is considered an interface fire. An evacuation order is in effect for the following areas:

Last updated July 1st at 2:47 p.m.

Fire was first reported on the Alaska Highway on June 29th. The fire has spread to an estimated 2,856 hectares (28.56 km²).

This fire is classified as out of control, but not an interface fire. Lightning is presumed to be the cause.

The PRRD, RCMP, highways crew and BC Wildfire Service are facilitating evacuations. Road travellers on Highway 97 North can expect delays as traffic is piloted through the area by highway crews.

Last updated July 1st at 2:53 p.m.