Sunday July 25, 2021 | BC INTERIOR [Updated July 26, 2021]
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc., Editor | Island Social Trends
The BC Wildfire Service is now sending out what appear to be daily bulletins to the media, with updates to their statistics about wildfires and how they are being managed.
Today at 6 am, another BC Wildfire Service update rolled in, with statistics as of 7 pm Saturday July 24, 2021.
Earlier today, the BC wildfire disaster at Lytton as well as the many deaths caused by extreme heat during the heat dome June 25 to 29, made international news on the Fareed Zakaria GPS show on CNN [hear the Extreme Weather replay].
Active fires & personnel:
Currently there are 257 wildfires burning in BC (bringing the 2021 season total to 1,205 so far).
Active fires are all on the BC mainland (no fires of note on Vancouver Island), with the most being in the Kamloops area (92), as well as 66 in the Southeast, 48 in the Prince George area, 40 in the Cariboo, seven in the coastal region and four in the northwest.
As of Sunday there are 3,278 firefighters and other personnel fighting fires, which increased to 3,558 on Monday (including 1,252 contractors).
On Sunday, BC Wildfire says that 72 are from out of province. However, 100 Mexican firefighters arrived yesterday as greeted by Public Safety Minister Minister Mike Farnworth, and 250 Canadian Military personnel have arrived (for a total 350 by sometime this week) who will “mop up” on the fire lines so that trained firefighters can do active fire suppression.
Australian support:
There are 34 firefighting personnel arriving in BC from Australia on Tuesday July 27. That contingent includes one management team of nine people to undertake leadership roles such as task force leaders, divisional supervisors and technical specialists. This was announced by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (in a news release July 26, 2021).
Alerts and evacuations:
There are presently 58 evacuation orders (+1) and 81 evacuation alerts (+5). That has impacted 4,403 properties as being on order (-524) and 17,489 properties on alert (+1,031). All of those are on the mainland; none are in Vancouver Island Central.
Real-time updates:
- Real-time updates on evacuation alerts and orders
- The latest BC wildfire information
- Impacted provincial highways
Tourism is impacted:
As the BC economy pulls out of the COVID pandemic, people have been encouraged to travel within the province. But of course people are expected to avoid the areas that are impacted by active wildfires.
===== ADDITIONAL LINKS (from BC Wildfire):
* To help people and communities manage and recover from the impacts of wildfires, the Province has assembled a list of the key resources people may need.
Go to www.EmergencyInfoBC.ca (http://www.emergencyinfobc.ca/) and click on “recovery and supports.”
* To register for Emergency Support Services: https://ess.gov.bc.ca/
Or call toll-free: 1 800 585-9559
* For information and resources for farms/livestock producers, including the livestock relocation program:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/business-market-development/emergency-management
* For information on BC Hydro bill help for British Columbians who are evacuated:
https://app.bchydro.com/accounts-billing/evacuee-help.html?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=redirect&utm_content=evacueehelp (https://app.bchydro.com/accounts-billing/evacuee-help.html?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=redirect&utm_content=evacueehelp)
* For information on how to report a claim related to wildfire damage through ICBC: https://www.icbc.com/claims/report-view/Pages/Report-a-claim-online.aspx
Or by phone (toll-free): 1 800 910-4222
* If you have health concerns due to smoky air, extreme heat and the stress of being evacuated or on alert, dial 811 to contact HealthLink BC.
* For information on programs to help those impacted by seasonal emergencies and disasters:
* Individual and family recovery programs: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/emergency-response-and-recovery/recovery-programs#individual
* First Nations support: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/emergency-response-and-recovery/recovery-programs#nation
* Business and agriculture recovery programs: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/emergency-response-and-recovery/recovery-programs#business
* Indirect business support: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/emergency-response-and-recovery/recovery-programs#indirect
* Resources for community recovery managers: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/emergency-response-and-recovery/recovery-programs#community
* For information about private home insurance and other private insurance claims related to wildfire: http://www.ibc.ca/qc/disaster/bcwildfire
* For up-to-date information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, call 1 888 3-FOREST (1 888 336-7378)
Or visit: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status
