The B.C. government will be temporarily restricting travel to fire-affected areas as wildfires threaten thousands in the Central Interior and southeast.
The new order will restrict non-essential travellers and tourists from booking temporary accommodations in Kelowna, West Kelowna, Kamloops, Oliver, Osoyoos, Penticton and Vernon. This includes motels, hotels and campgrounds.
Those who are already staying in temporary accommodations in these areas are being asked to voluntarily check out early to free up space for evacuees and front-line workers.
The order does not impact essential travel into the region, including:
- Providing emergency or critical services
- Travelling for health or medical reasons
- Transporting essential goods and supplies
- Attending court or complying with a court order
- Attending a funeral service
- Avoiding the risk of abuse or violence
- Exercising parental responsibilities
- Attending classes or training
This comes after the B.C. government issued a provincial state of emergency on Friday due to the rapidly escalating crisis.
As of Saturday, there are 380 active wildfires burning in B.C. Fifteen of those are wildfires of note. More than 160 are considered “out of control.”
Around 35,000 people are affected by evacuation orders across the province, Premier David Eby said on Saturday. About 30,000 people are affected by evacuation alerts.
Of those, 9,444 people are under evacuation alert in Kelowna, West Kelowna and Lake Country. Around 10,782 people in those areas are under evacuation order.
The emergency declaration was being implemented to ensure the province has rapid access to any tools that are needed to respond to the wildfires.
During a news conference on Saturday, Eby thanked those who have cancelled their plans to travel to the Central Okanagan for vacation or other non-essential purposes.
However, there is still an urgent need for more accommodations given the growing number of evacuees and front-line firefighting personnel, he said.
“The current situation is grim,” Eby told reporters.
“This new order is specific to ensuring that we have accommodation available for evacuees and emergency personnel, so they have safe places to stay.
“Please just stay out of these areas if you don’t have to be there.”
Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Bowinn Ma added the new declaration will give extraordinary powers to keep communities and first responders safe.
“People, families, firefighters and other front-line responders need a safe place to stay during this extremely challenging and difficult time,” she said on Saturday.
“If you do not need to travel to these areas for essential reasons, we need you to change your plans.
“This decision was not made lightly, but it is necessary to ensure public safety. This is a challenging time for everyone and my heart is with those who have to leave their home and those who are getting prepared to leave if needed.”
Ma also added people should not be travelling to Kelowna and the Central Okanagan to watch the fires.
“We absolutely cannot have people blocking our roads, taking photographs, getting out of their cars and visiting communities where there’s high wildfire activity,” she said.
Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas urged tourists to postpone their trips and said the next few days will be critical for the community.
“These next few days are critical for our community,” Dyas told reporters at a separate news conference on Saturday. “We will let you know when it’s safe to visit us and we welcome you at that time.
“And we appreciate your understanding that, during this time, we just need you to stay away from the Central Okanagan so that we can deal with the fires and our roads are not clogged and our hotel rooms are available for individuals who have been evacuated from their homes.”
But Eby did not elaborate how the provincial government will be making sure tourists won’t book out temporary accommodations.
“This order is specifically to discourage people from travelling to the Okanagan to stay in hotels, motels and campsites. The goal is to free up accommodation,” he said.
Lisanne Ballantyne, CEO and president of Tourism Kelowna, said she expected the restrictions because of how serious the wildfire situation is. She acknowledged the restrictions are needed to protect the community and supports the provincial government’s decision.
“It makes sense for the conditions we’re under right now,” she told Global News.
“All of these restrictions impact our tourism industry, which is a $2.1 billion industry in our region, in a significant way. August is typically one of our busiest months for tourism in this area.”
Ballantyne added local businesses were looking forward to the tourist season to regain business lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, and she hopes the wildfire situation will calm down soon.
She said those who have to travel into the region must stay updated with accurate information about the wildfire situation because of how rapidly it changes.
“It’s not the time for any type of leisure travel. I think most people will understand that the accommodations for crews and those who have been evacuated are really the priority,” she said.
“We really rely on the province to help centralize important communications that are going to help our visitors and people thinking about visiting. Getting that information out in a very quick and real time way is what (the government) can do for us right now.”
–With files from Doyle Potenteau, Global News.
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