Live updates: B.C. firefighters battle to protect communities

A state of emergency remains in place Monday across British Columbia, where raging wildfires have left tens of thousands of people under evacuation orders or alerts.

Here are the latest developments in firefighters' ongoing battle to protect people and property.

3:56 p.m. – Meta responds to criticism from B.C. premier

Meta, the social media conglomerate behind Facebook and Instagram, has responded to criticism from B.C. Premier David Eby over its ongoing ban of Canadian news content in the midst of the province's wildfire emergency.

In a statement, the company said it has continued to connect users with emergency information through Safety Checks and access to crisis response pages for Kelowna and Yellowknife.

Meta stopped allowing Canadian news in response to Bill C-18, which requires tech giants to compensate news organizations for sharing their content.

2:15 p.m. – Wildfire near Keremeos continuing to grow

The B.C. Wildfire Service said the Crater Creek blaze that's been burning southwest of Keremeos for weeks has continued to grow, reaching an estimated 44,000 hectares, and remains out of control.

Officials said the flames were fanned by gusting winds over the weekend, but that conditions eased on Monday – though the winds have also changed direction, posing new challenges for crews.

 

12:40 p.m. – 38 Armed Forces members in B.C., defence minister says

Approximately 38 members of the Canadian Armed Forces have been deployed into British Columbia and are doing reconnaissance for potential airlift operations, should those services be needed, according to Defence Minister Bill Blair.

The minister provided an update from the federal government's cabinet retreat on Prince Edward Island following a meeting of the incident response group formed in response to the wildfires in B.C. and the Northwest Territories.

Blair said he has also approved the use of the Vernon Cadet Camp for staging firefighters and receiving evacuees.

12:05 p.m. – Eby denounces 'tampering' with firefighting equipment

Speaking at a noon news conference, Premier David Eby denounced the North Shuswap residents who have been "tampering" with provincial firefighting equipment while trying to defend their homes in evacuation zones.

That includes pumps, sprinklers, hoses and all-terrain vehicles that were strategically placed by firefighting experts to maximize their usefulness in battling the 41,000-hectare Adams complex, or Bush Creek East blaze.

"We'll put the best possible understanding on this – that people think they're helping," Eby said. "They are not. You're not helping if you're moving firefighting equipment."

10:25 a.m. – At least 50 buildings burned in West Kelowna

West Kelowna's fire chief has confirmed at least 50 homes and properties have been burned by the McDougall Creek wildfire – and emergency crews have yet to survey the destruction in the hardest-hit areas. Officials say at least five homes were also destroyed in Kelowna and about two to three were also lost in Lake Country

"We're not done yet and the most damaged neighbourhoods are still to come," Jason Brolund said Monday. "However I believe it's important that people begin to understand the scope and scale of what our community is facing."

Officials also revealed that crews have finished touring the Smith Creek, Tallus Ridge, Shannon Lake, Rose Valley areas, as well as the Lenz Road Trailer Park, and found no wildfire damage.

10 a.m. – Officials not expecting 'explosive growth' in Okanagan fires

Firefighters made encouraging progress battling the wildfires threatening West Kelowna and Kelowna over the weekend, allowing some evacuees to return home, and officials are expecting that work to continue on Monday.

While the McDougall Creek wildfire in West Kelowna and the North Clifton-McKinley fire in Kelowna are both still burning out of control, Jerrad Schroeder of the B.C. Wildfire Service said humidity and cooler temperatures should help crews in their suppression efforts.

"We're not expecting any significant explosive growth," Schroeder said. "It is effectively another good day to fight fire, with the exception of our visibility being impeded by the smoke."

The Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre said 9.855 properties remain on evacuation order, as work continues counting the number of damaged or destroyed properties. 

7:30 a.m. - Trudeau says incident response group meeting Monday

Speaking in Prince Edward Island ahead of a federal cabinet retreat, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government would be hosting an incident response group meeting Monday afternoon to ensure Canada is "continuing to do everything necessary to keep people safe" from wildfires in both British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.

"Canadians from coast to coast to coast are watching in horror, the images of apocalyptic devastation and fires going on in communities that so many of us know, and so many of us have friends in," Trudeau said. “This is a scary and heartbreaking time.”

He also reiterated previous comments from the weekend confirming that Ottawa has approved B.C.'s request to deploy the Canadian Armed Forces into the wildfire fight.

7 a.m. – Concerns about more extreme fire behaviour

The B.C. Wildfire Service has raised concerns about more gusting wind in the forecast for some areas Monday, which could once again trigger "extreme fire behaviour."

Officials said crews worked overnight to control the Bush Creek East blaze burning in the Columbia Shuswap region, which expanded to 410 square kilometres in size over the weekend and merged with the Adams Lake wildfire.

In an update posted late Sunday night on social media, the BCWS said smoky skies have helped mitigate the fire's behaviour, and that there could be a few millimetres of precipitation Monday evening that could aid suppression efforts.

"Based on the current forecast, fire behaviour is expected to decrease after (Monday)," the BCWS wrote.

With files from The Canadian Press