Forests Minister Steve Thomson said he expects further help to arrive from Australia, with more personnel coming from New Zealand to assist fire crews in Alberta.
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The B.C. Wildfire Service said gusty winds and drought conditions are hampering efforts to contain dozens of wildfires in the province.
More assistance has been requested through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which sent B.C. crews to Alaska, Alberta and Yukon earlier in the season.
As of July 7, approximately 40 homes in the province were on Evacuation Order with approximately 920 homes on Evacuation Alert. Please check with civic authorities for any restrictions before lighting a fire.
The minister couldn’t say when that could happen, however.
“The availability of resources is at a critical level, and any significant increase in fire load will be hard for us to manage”, he said.
The province’s hesitation to bring back the Mars wasn’t about money, Thomson added, but whether the bomber would be an efficient use of the province’s resources. “We appreciate the reciprocal arrangement when we need the additional resources”. “We will make sure we have the resources available to protect communities”, he said.
Fire information officer Marg Drysdale says it’s been many years since a campfire ban covered the fog zone, but the unprecedented dry conditions have made that necessary.
That fire ban is expected to remain in place for the next seven to 10 days.
Thomson is providing an update on the wildfire situation along with officials from Vancouver Coastal Health and the B.C. Wildfire Service.
Smoke advisories continued Tuesday for Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, the Sea to Sky corridor, with new advisories for south and eastern Vancouver Island from Campbell River to Victoria, including the Port Alberni area where the Dog Mountain fire continued to grow.
“Our concerns are the sensitive or more vulnerable populations”, he said.
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The Newby Lake wildfire in the Similkameen near the United States of America / Canada border was 180 hectares in size on July 4, 2015.
