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
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.