B.C. is in a state of emergency — here’s what that means for fighting wildfires

Air assets will be made available to transport firefighting personnel and equipment, support medical evacuations and move people in remote communities out of harm’s way,” the ministers said in their joint statement.The federal government offered approximately 200 troops to be sent in mop-up operations to contain the spread of the fires. In addition, federal services will help with the coordination and distribution of response efforts.

What additional powers does the province have?

Under a state of emergency, the province is granted several additional powers that it does not possess under normal circumstances.“It allows the province to implement emergency measures and allows us to access any assets that might be necessary,” explained Ryan Turcot, a Fire Information Officer with the B.C. Wildfire Service.

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More specifically, the province now has:

• the ability to temporarily possess any land or property required for fighting the wildfires
• the ability to control or prohibit travel to, from and within the province
•  the right to restore or construct facilities needed for fighting the wildfires
• the right to implement fixed prices on goods or ration supplies

None of those options are currently being explored, explained Turcot – but the province has the power to do those things if it becomes necessary.“Certainly what I can say there is the provincial state of emergency represents the fact that we’re actively exploring every option that we can to resource the current fire situation as best as possible,” said Turcot.

What does it take to declare a state of emergency?

The Canadian Armed Forces were also called in last year during massive flooding in Ontario and Quebec, ice storms in New Brunswick, and during the Fort McMurray wildfires of 2016. This operation, according to previous Global News reporting, is called Operation LENTUS and has been deployed 14 times since 2010.