Tyler Moylan (left) a member of the Alaska Smoke Jumpers, and B.C. Wildfire crew member Charlie Helton (right) use drip torches to light a planned ignition in a dense area of forest on a wildfire near Vanderhoof, B.C.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
New wildfires continue to erupt in British Columbia, triggering more evacuation orders while federal and international help is on the way.
There were more than 900 active wildfires Saturday across the country, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), and nearly two thirds were deemed out of control. British Columbia was by far the most affected province, with more than 30 new fires erupting that day.
B.C. Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness spokesperson Krystal Thomson said approximately 256 people were under an evacuation order and 1608 people under an evacuation alert in the northeast, northwest, and Cariboo regions of the province as of Friday afternoon.
The province’s online emergency map showed 71 evacuation orders and alerts due to wildfires were issued by the regional districts of Bulkley-Nechako, Cariboo, Central Coast, Fraser-Fort George, Kitimat-Stikine, Peace River, and Squamish-Lillooet, along with the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, the Stikine Region, the Takla, Tl’azt’en, and Lhoosk’uz Dené nations, and the Yekooche and Nadleh Whut’en First Nations. Some were issued or updated Saturday by the Regional District of Bulkley Nechako.
Environment Canada maintained a special air quality statement over most of the province Saturday, except the coast, warning of poor air quality and reduced visibility due to wildfire smoke.
Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair announced Friday that B.C.’s request for federal assistance was approved, and that resources from the military and other federal departments would be mobilized to help.
Department of National Defence spokesperson Jessica Lamirande said an Immediate Response Unit consisting of two companies of soldiers will be available to assist in firefighting. The Canadian Armed Forces are also ready to provide aircraft for logistical tasks and evacuations, including two CH-146 Griffon helicopters and one CC-130J Hercules, “should it be needed,” she said. Resources will be deployed Sunday and are expected to be on the ground by Monday.
Other requests from the province, like staging areas and maritime support, are being addressed by other departments including Transport Canada, the RCMP, and the Canadian Coast Guard, said Annie Cullinan, a spokesperson for Minister Blair’s office.
Bowinn Ma, B.C.’s Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, said in a statement Friday that federal resources will work alongside approximately 2,000 B.C. Wildfire Service personnel across the province, in addition to further international resources expected this weekend.
The province has requested 1,000 additional foreign firefighters to join 160 from Mexico and the United States already in B.C., Ms. Ma said Thursday. Her office said Saturday that Australian teams are expected to arrive this weekend.
With 10 million hectares of forest burned so far this year in Canada, 2023 has been the worst wildfire season on record for weeks and shows no sign of slowing down, CIFFC data show.
The central and northeast parts of B.C. that have been heavily affected by wildfires in recent weeks may see some precipitation over the weekend, but drought will persist in these areas, said wildfire information officer Nic Kokolski on Friday.
He said rising humidity and lowering temperatures will dampen fire activity in many regions, but the rainfall will be accompanied by more thundershowers in the northeast, and that winds and warm weather in most of the province Sunday and Monday could feed existing fires.
B.C. Wildfire Service firefighter Kurt Wandler waits for his colleague Charlie Helton during a planned ignition on a wildfire burning near Vanderhoof, B.C.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
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Earlier this week, B.C. ordered the oil and gas industry to temporarily stop diverting water to operations in one northeast district, and is now considering banning water use by other industries such as agriculture in other parts of the province, as it tries to conserve resources for its fight against the twin crises of drought and wildfires.
Government officials said Thursday they were also working with municipalities, regional districts and First Nations to escalate restrictions on personal water usage as more than two thirds of the province’s rivers were experiencing high to extreme levels of drought.
With reports from The Canadian Press