A state of emergency remains in place across British Columbia as threatening wildfires force thousands of residents to evacuate from homes in the Okanagan in the southern Interior and elsewhere in the province.
Here are the latest developments on the B.C. wildfires (all times are PT):
10:40 a.m.
Jason Bedell, emergency support services supervisor, says trained volunteers from Calgary have arrived to help with registering evacuees in Kelowna.
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10:30 a.m.
Kelowna Fire Chief Travis Whiting says officials don't anticipate any changes to alerts or evacuation orders for at least the next day or so.
10:20 a.m.
West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund says at least 50 structures have been lost in the community, but some of the most heavily damaged neighbourhoods have not been assessed yet.
Brolund says there will be a "systematic approach" to allowing people to return home, but only when it's safe to do so.
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10 a.m.
Officials with the Central Okanagan Regional District say there are 9,855 properties on evacuation order as of this morning, a situation they call "unprecedented"
BC Wildfire Service’s Jerrad Schroeder says today is “another good day to fight fires” and they are not expecting any explosive growth.
West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund says no new structures have been lost in the last 24 hours.
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9:38 a.m.
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is urging the prime minister to provide financial assistance to help residents who were forced to evacuate due to raging wildfires.
He says in a statement that the government should support communities in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories by reassuring them they won't be alone once the crisis passes and they look to rebuild.
Singh says Justin Trudeau should commit to the support at this week's Liberal cabinet retreat in Charlottetown.
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8:31 a.m.
Kelowna's provincial courthouse, including its registry, will reopen today.
It says processes will resume as scheduled until further notice.
The provincial court closed Friday due to the McDougall Creek wildfire and evacuation orders.
It says it will continue to monitor the situation and announce all changes and impacts to courts on its website.
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7:45 a.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadians are "watching in horror the images of apocalyptic devastation" as wildfires rage in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.
He says the federal government is closely monitoring the fires in Kelowna and Yellowknife, adding that members of the Canadian Armed Forces have been deployed to B.C.
Trudeau says wildfires will be a main topic at this week's Liberal cabinet retreat in Charlottetown.
He says the federal government is also hosting an Incident Response Group meeting this afternoon in P.E.I. to make sure Ottawa doing everything necessary to keep people safe and co-ordinate with provinces.
Trudeau says federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan will be attending that meeting virtually from B.C., where he is leading the federal efforts for the province.
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7 a.m.
The BC Wildfire Service says crews were working overnight to control the Bush Creek East blaze in Columbia Shuswap in the southern Interior.
That blaze, which is now about 410 square kilometres in size, merged and encompassed the Adams Lake wildfire this weekend.
The service says in a post on social media that, as of 11 p.m. Sunday, weather systems were influenced by tropical storm Hilary, over Southern California.
It says winds are expected to reach 20 kilometres per hour today, with gusts up to 40.
The service says while there is an ongoing potential for extreme fire behaviour, crews are getting assistance from smoke cover, which is helping tame fires and are hoping the forecast that calls for two to three millimetres of rain brings much-needed help.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2023.
The Canadian Press
