One of B.C.’s regional districts hardest hit by the province’s “unprecedented” early wildfire season will formally call on the NDP government to declare a provincial state of emergency.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District’s board of directors voted unanimously to make the appeal to the provincial government, Thursday.
About 13 per cent of the TNRD was under an evacuation order or alert as of Thursday.
More than 875 properties have been evacuated in the district, and more than 2,300 more were under an evacuation alert.
The district has already declared six local states of emergency.
Earlier Thursday, Emergency Management BC director of response Brendan Ralfs resisted the call for a province-wide state of emergency, describing the measure as “primarily a legislative tool.”
“During this current event, a provincial declaration of a state of emergency has not been necessary to provide assistance to people to access funding or to coordinate or obtain additional resources, including federal assets to support both response efforts and people who are affected or impacted by the event,” Ralfs said.
Ralfs said the province was providing communities with all necessary and requested resources.
Also Thursday, the BC Wildfire Service said it was being forced to choose which new fires to deploy to as it grappled with stretched resources and an accelerating fire season.
Currently, there are 306 active fires burning in the province, with 26 started in the last two days.
In recent years, the province has declared states of emergency in 2017 and 2018.
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