Officials from BC Wildfire Service and Emergency Management BC provided some updates on the current wildfires raging across the province, and the efforts going into battling them.
“Since April 1st, 2021, BC Wildfire Service has responded to almost 1100 incidents, resulting in approximately 203,000 hectares burnt to date. To give you an idea for this time of the year how that relates to the 10-year average, at this time of year we would normally be sitting around 209 wildfires, and around 60,000 hectares burnt,” said Kurtis Isfeld with BC Wildfire Service.
“About 35% of total wildfires this season have been attributed to human activity,” he added.
There are 306 active wildfires in BC, 66 of which are in the Prince George Fire Centre.
Isfeld said 118 out-of-province resources have come into BC from Quebec, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Parks Canada.
He also mentioned the federal government has offered support through the Coast Guard and Armed Forces.
“In the province, we have 30 Evacuation Orders, 51 Evacuation Alerts, over 2800 properties on order, and 10,000 properties on alert,” said Brendan Ralfs with Emergency Management BC.
He said the numbers around the wildfires are constantly changing, and that people should check Emergency Info BC for updated numbers.