B.C. fire crews are bracing for the wildfire situation to worsen.

With 35 new blazes sparked in the past day alone, there are now a total of 219 active fires in the province, dozens of which are burning out of control.

A total of 14,365 people have been displaced by the fires – a number that may grow significantly if the roughly 11,000 residents of Williams Lake who are currently on evacuation alert are forced from their homes.

More than 44,000 hectares of land has been burned, according to Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek. Also burning is a large quantity of cash: The costs so far this year to fight the growing wildfires have topped $53.5 million.

What's most worrisome is that this is just the very beginning of the traditional B.C. fire season, Skrepnek told reporters Tuesday.

B.C.'s premier designate John Horgan said he's been monitoring the "shock and horror, the devastation of the fires" along with the rest of the province.

Horgan said he's confident everything that can be done is being done, but acknowledged the situation may still get worse before it gets better.

"We're early days here, and I think that people have to realize this is not going away on the weekend," he said from Victoria at a press briefing.

"This is going to be the next couple of weeks, perhaps the rest of the summer, and we have to make sure that we're all standing together."

The transition of power from the outgoing BC Liberals to the NDP won't complicate the distribution of emergency services, both parties assured the public Tuesday.

Todd Stone, the minister responsible for Emergency Management B.C., said the NDP is being kept in the loop every step of the way.

"There will be a seamless transfer," Stone said. "It's critical for everyone to know that the elected officials at the provincial level are all working together.”

All hands on deck

Three hundred firefighters from across Canada have started arriving in the B.C. Interior and the Chilcotin to provide relief to the 1,000-strong force of exhausted local crews, who have been working around the clock.

The out-of-province firefighters and logistics personnel are coming from Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.

Forty fixed-wing aircraft and 200 helicopters are fighting the battle from above. Ten firefighting aircraft have been brought in from other Canadian provinces, including seven air tankers and three "birddog" crafts which help coordinate the tankers from the air.

The ministry of forests says while it usually has enough staff, aircraft and equipment to tackle "any situation" during fire season, right now it is in dire need of outside help because of the extraordinarily high number of wildfires.

Officials are keeping a close eye on the weather: Continued hot and dry conditions with the potential for more lighting could spark more wildfires.

Authorities also offered a closer look Tuesday at the devastation caused in Boston Flats, a small community located between Cache Creek and Ashcroft that's been decimated by fire.

The blaze, which has spread across 10,000 hectares, tore through the community quickly, destroying dozens of mobile homes and vehicles and upending many residents’ lives in the process.

"Those flames were moving very quickly around the hillside. This fire burned kilometres in hours," fire information officer Mike McCulley said, adding there was nothing anyone could have done to prevent the destruction.

"We're here to protect life and property and obviously that didn't happen here. It's not a reflection on any effort that anybody put in or didn't."

Air quality concerns

Meanwhile, thick, acrid smoke is being blamed for health issues for residents in affected areas, said Dr. Bonnie Henry, the deputy provincial health officer.

On Tuesday morning, the air quality health index for Williams Lake, which normally rates potential danger on a scale from one to 10, was listed at 36.

By the late afternoon, the index had dropped to an eight, which is still in the high-risk range.

"Consider reducing or rescheduling strenuous activities outdoors if you experience symptoms such as coughing and throat irritation," the B.C. government warned on its website.

At-risk populations, such as pregnant women, young children, seniors and people with existing health conditions, are warned to be even more cautious.

Henry advised people in those categories to stay indoors as much as possible with the windows and doors closed to minimize exposure.