Close X
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
ADVT 
National

Evacuation order for Cariboo region in B.C.

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 14 Jul, 2021 03:51 PM
  • Evacuation order for Cariboo region in B.C.

More than 1,400 properties in British Columbia's Cariboo region have been placed on evacuation order as wildfires rage across the province.

The order from the Cariboo Regional District covers roughly 1,000 properties south of 100 Mile House and 482 properties in the Canim Lake area, with residents warned of "immediate danger" from wildfires.

The District of 100 Mile House, roughly 200 kilometres north of Kamloops, has been placed under an evacuation alert, which means residents have been told they may have to leave their homes with little notice.

It comes as much of central and eastern British Columbia is under a special weather bulletin warning of smoky skies, with an Environment Canada meteorologist cautioning about the long-term potential for smoke.

Environment Canada issued the special air quality statement warning about the smoke for the next few days in areas stretching from the Interior of B.C. to Yukon and the Alberta boundary.

Doug Lundquist, a meteorologist with the Meteorological Service of Canada, said B.C. residents should be prepared for smoky skies to linger into the fall.

"We're going to see this for months," he said in an interview. "There's smoke all over, from Alaska down to Mexico. All we need ... is the wind to go the wrong direction and bring it back up from other locations."

Four areas in the province also remain under a heat warning including the Fraser Canyon where the village of Lytton was destroyed by fire last month, with predicted daytime highs of up to 38 C.

Lundquist said the extreme heat that gripped much of the province and shattered records is a "once in my lifetime" event.

"I've done this job for 34 years and I don't remember seeing anything as extraordinary as this," he said. "The smoke is coming a month earlier than we've seen before and we've never, ever had the heat like we've had at the end of June."

The BC Wildfire Service said much of the central part of the province is at extreme risk of wildfires with more than 300 fires burning.

Two dozen of them are highly visible or pose a potential threat to public safety. More than 1,760 square kilometres of land has burned since the wildfire season started on April 1.

The wildfire service said in a statement that more than 98 per cent of that area is from wildfires crews are currently battling.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has convened the government's incident response group partly because of the wildfire situation in B.C. to discuss preparations the federal government can take.

The government said in a statement that Trudeau and cabinet ministers who are part of the group have agreed to closely monitor the situation and deal quickly with any requests for help from their provincial counterparts.

MORE National ARTICLES

Vaccines preventing hospitalizations from Delta

Vaccines preventing hospitalizations from Delta
A new study in England suggests the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines are extremely good at keeping people from ending up in the hospital with COVID-19, even after just one dose.

Vaccines preventing hospitalizations from Delta

Uppal apologizes for role in divisive policies

Uppal apologizes for role in divisive policies
A former Conservative cabinet minister is apologizing for not pushing against his party's culturally divisive polices of the Stephen Harper era, including an effort to ban face coverings during citizenship ceremonies.

Uppal apologizes for role in divisive policies

Trudeau wants NATO unity on China, Russia

Trudeau wants NATO unity on China, Russia
Canada's prime minister used his time at a summit of political and military allies underlining the need to present a united front against Russia, China and the general threat of authoritarianism.

Trudeau wants NATO unity on China, Russia

Canada won't take more doses from COVAX

Canada won't take more doses from COVAX
Canada has contracts to buy more than 251 million doses of seven different vaccines from vaccine makers, more than three times what it needs to fully immunize every Canadian.

Canada won't take more doses from COVAX

Business leaders demand border reopening plan now

Business leaders demand border reopening plan now
Business leaders are calling on Ottawa to immediately lay out a comprehensive plan to reopen the economy and international borders along with a vaccine certification process.

Business leaders demand border reopening plan now

B.C. woman seriously hurt in traffic stop

B.C. woman seriously hurt in traffic stop
The Independent Investigations Office says an officer ordered the woman who was riding an electric scooter to pull over late Saturday.

B.C. woman seriously hurt in traffic stop