British Columbia (BC) Premier David Evey declared a state of emergency on the afternoon of August 18.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the rapidly changing situation, British Columbia, under its authority under the Emergency Programs Act, has established a provincial emergency plan to ensure that the means necessary to assist our communities are readily available as the situation evolves. I will declare the situation,” he said at a press conference.<\/p>\n
The state of emergency will allow states to issue emergency orders to evacuate people and quickly respond to firefighting efforts. 117 evacuation orders and evacuation advisories have been issued in BC. On the 17th, evacuation orders and advisories were issued to Kelowna, a hub city in the Okanagan region of central southern BC, and many people were forced to evacuate.<\/p>\n
“British Columbia is experiencing its worst bushfire season this year. Over the last 24 hours, the situation has escalated rapidly, and the next few days will continue to be extremely challenging,” said Premier Evey. He says numerous wildfires are raging across British Columbia, threatening communities. There are currently 380 wildfires raging in the state, 15 of which could directly affect the livelihoods of state residents, and 159 of which have reported being out of control.<\/p>\n
Currently, Highway 1 in the Okanagan region from Sorrento to Chase is closed to traffic due to wildfires. The Okanagan region is a popular resort area and a popular summer destination. The state government is urging people to avoid non-essential travel to the central and southeastern parts of the state. There are currently no travel restrictions, but it has announced that it will impose travel restrictions, if necessary, under the state of emergency.<\/p>\n
The state premier called on all residents to “keep vigilance, listen to information from local authorities, and follow evacuation orders,” and said, “We want to overcome this situation together.”<\/p>\n
Wildfire information is on the BC Wildfire Service website for the BC government, evacuation information is on his EmergencyInfoBC, and the latest information is updated on Twitter. Evacuation information for the Kelowna area is posted on the Central Okanagan Emergency Operation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"