Smoke could stick around for next 10 days: BC Wildfire Service

The weather outlook for BC in the next week-and-a-half is the basis for the provincial government’s State of Emergency declared this morning.

There are 48 major fires of note, five of which are in the Prince George Fire Centre, and heavy smoke is becoming the number-one concern due to changing winds and potential lightning strikes.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth clarifies this announcement shouldn’t cause mass panic.

“This will allow the province to be able to requisition equipment, to be able to control entry, to requisition, for example, the fire commissioner being able to say ‘we need fire services,’ or the police to be able to say ‘we need an x-number of police officers from this detachment to be able to go and assist in an evacuation.”

The @CityofPG has launched a web page to provide info to local residents & #BCwildfire evacuees: https://t.co/hCuidXviu3 https://t.co/3VFtChNd6q

— Emergency Info BC (@EmergencyInfoBC) August 15, 2018

Since April 1st, more than 1,800 wildfires have burned over 381,000 hectares of land.

Firefighters from Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico have also been called in to help crews battle blazes in the Northwest.

BC Wildfire Service Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek says the smoke is likely to stick around and while weather patterns could change instantly, there’s no major rainfall in sight

“Just because, the fact that we have so many fires so widespread, that shift in the wind could actually end up bringing more smoke down from some of the fires in the Central and in the Northwest.”

The Wildfire Service has spent more than $214 million in suppression efforts.

For more evacuee information, you can click here.

For more information on all the current wildfires in the Northwest and Prince George Fire Centres, you can click here.

With over 560 fires now burning, BC continues to experience heightened #BCwildfire activity. 3370 personnel are supporting ongoing wildfire response efforts. As much of BC is in a high to extreme fire danger rating, please remain vigilant and do your part to prevent wildfires. pic.twitter.com/w2lgh5aCmj

— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) August 15, 2018