A slight improvement on the wildfire front: the BC Wildfire Service says there are now 148 burning across the province with only 9 new ones starting on Friday.
“Since April 1st, we have responded to 810 fires across the province that have burned an estimated to 426,000 hectares of land,” says Kevin Skrepnek, the Service’s Chief Fire Information Officer.
However, affected areas could see more thunderstorms heading into the August long weekend which could result in more fire starts. There is no significant rain forecast for the next 7-10 days.
The BC Wildfire Service has now spent more than $166 million fighting fires this season.
Emergency Management BC (EMBC) now estimates that about 3,700 are still out of their homes due to evacuation orders. A total of 41,600 are affected by either evacuation orders or alerts across the central and north central areas of the province.
.@BCRCMP: Can not confirm at this time of any possible fatalities during #BCWildfires
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) July 29, 2017
While many people have returned to the 100 Mile and Williams Lakes areas, some have not due to health risks posed by the poor air quality. EMBC says it will continue its emergency support services until it is safe for everyone to return to their homes. Evacuees returning home to the Cariboo are encouraged to check the Cariboo Regional District website.
A fire ban is in place for almost all of BC and many parks and recreation areas remain closed due to extreme risk of wildfires. Anyone entering a closed park or starting a fire where a ban is in place could face stiff fines.
.@KevinSkrepnek says incidents of vandalism, starting new fires are mainly happening in #WilliamsLake, #Cariboo, #Chilcotin areas
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) July 29, 2017
You can find up to date information about the wildfire situation on the BC Wildfire Service website.
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