State of emergency prompted by B.C. wildfires extended two more weeks
The B.C. government has extended the state of emergency prompted by the province's ongoing wildfire situation for another two weeks.
The extension was announced Tuesday as thousands of B.C. residents remained under evacuation orders and alerts as a result of some of the 254 wildfires burning across the province.
"As we have seen over the past number of weeks, the continued dry, hot weather poses a high risk for potential wildfires," Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said in a statement.
"The province will continue to support British Columbians with all of the tools they may need if they end up facing an evacuation order."
Declaring a state of emergency gives officials extraordinary powers when dealing with a crisis, though Emergency Management B.C. said such measures are "not needed at this time."
During the record-breaking state of emergency that lasted for more than a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, those powers were used to implement B.C.'s travel restrictions and other rules intended to slow the spread of the virus.
Earlier on Tuesday, officials from the B.C. Wildfire Service warned the rainfall seen in parts of the province over the long weekend would only bring temporary relief.
"The rain received over the weekend has curbed the fire behaviour," said Rob Schweitzer, director of fire centre operations.
"However, the amount of rain was not enough to make any long-term impact and we'll see returns to those extremely dry conditions."
The current state of emergency is scheduled to last until Aug. 18, though officials can choose to end it early or extend it again.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.