The latest news on the wildfires ravaging British Columbia

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This article was published 21/08/2023 (1141 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A state of emergency remains in place across British Columbia as threatening wildfires force thousands of residents to evacuate from homes in the Okanagan in the southern Interior and elsewhere in the province.

Here are the latest developments on the B.C. wildfires (all times are PT):

4:06 p.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has convened a meeting of the Incident Response Group in Charlottetown to discuss Canada’s record-breaking wildfire season.

In a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office, the group says it met to discuss updates on federal support led by military and R-C-M-P personnel, as well as extensions of Service Canada hours and outreach to evacuees.

The convening of the incident response group is typically reserved for moments of national crisis or events with major implications for Canada.

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3:56 p.m.

Social media conglomerate Meta has responded to B-C Premier David Eby’s criticism of its continued ban of Canadian news content, saying it has been clear since February about the potential fallout from Canada’s Online News Act.

A statement from Meta, which operates Facebook and Instagram, says the company has continued to connect people with emergency information through Safety Checks and access to crisis response pages for Kelowna and Yellowknife.

Meta also says Canadians can continue accessing news online by directly going to local news outlets websites, apps and subscription services.

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3:53 p.m.

The health authority for Interior B-C is warning people to take measures to protect themselves from wildfire smoke, including staying indoors and reducing outdoor activity.

Interior Health says people with chronic conditions like asthma are especially at risk.

It says wearing a well-fitted respirator like an N-95 mask or having a medical management plan can reduce the risks linked to poor air quality.

Meanwhile, communities such as Penticton are directing residents to museums, libraries and other indoor spaces, where extra programming has been added.

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3:09 p.m.

The Metro Vancouver Regional District says it will continue its air quality advisory for much of the region until further notice.

The district issued a statement saying the advisory has been cancelled for Metro Vancouver — Southwest, covering the communities of Richmond and Delta.

It says other Metro Vancouver regions are expecting improvements overnight, but high concentrations of fine particulate matter are expected to last “until a change in the weather” occurs.

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2:15 p.m.

The B-C Wildfire Service says the Crater Creek wildfire southwest of Keremeos continues to grow, although slowing winds are aiding firefighters in battling the blaze.

Information Officer Taylor Colman says in a video update that the fire is currently measured at 440 square kilometres, and the strong winds from the cold front in the last few days created challenging situations for firefighters.

Colman says the slowing wind does pose new challenges as it comes with a change of direction northward, but crews have been placed accordingly to counter the shift.

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12:45 p.m.

British Columbia Premier David Eby says he is “astonished” that social media giant Meta continues to block Canadian news content on its Facebook and Instagram platforms despite the ongoing wildfire crisis.

Eby describes the decision to continue the ban as incredibly frustrating, saying it “quote” “feels a bit like they’re holding British Columbians for ransom to make a point with Ottawa.”

Eby also made an open plea to Meta co-founder and C-E-O Mark Zuckerberg to open up access to Canadian media, since B-C residents need to be able to share critical local information to stay safe.

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12:38 p.m.

B-C Wildfire Service Operations Director Cliff Chapman is defending the handling of multiple major wildfires, saying firefighters are not just prioritizing the McDougall Creek blaze near West Kelowna.

Chapman says there are 164 firefighters assigned to the blaze near Kelowna, 385 people assigned to the Adams Lake complex fires in the Shuswap region and 130 assigned to Kookipi Creek near Lytton.

Chapman also says the controlled burns conducted in the Shuswap region to fight the Adams Lake blazes “saved hundreds of homes” in the area and are a necessary tactic when dry weather reduces the effectiveness of water bombers and ground operations.

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12:25 p.m.

B-C Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma says there are now about 27-thousand people in the province under an evacuation order due to ongoing wildfires.

Ma says there are another 35-thousand people across B-C under alert to evacuate on short notice, and she’s reminding residents that evacuation orders are laws that need to be heeded.

Ma says people who ignore the orders by choosing to stay behind in evacuation zones are making a dangerous situation even more perilous, and tourists also need to obey all travel bans to affected areas such as the Kelowna region.

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12:12 p.m.

British Columbia Premier David Eby says he and two of his cabinet ministers will visit regions affected by wildfires in the province’s Interior tomorrow.

Eby says he, Forests Minister Bruce Ralston and Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma will make the trip to reassure residents, as well as to get “front line information” so the government can be “as responsive as possible” while handling the wildfire situation.

Eby also says the province is aware of people tampering with firefighting equipment and warns such actions are not helping the fight against the ongoing blazes.

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10:50 a.m.

Kelowna Regional RCMP Supt. Kara Triance says there have been no confirmed break-ins in evacuated areas in Kelowna, West Kelowna or Lake Country.

Triance says some people have been spotted in the evacuation zones who were trying to return home to pick up belongings.

She says those people were escorted out and that returning to homes under an evacuation order is not safe.

10:40 a.m.

Jason Bedell, emergency support services supervisor, says trained volunteers from Calgary have arrived to help in Kelowna.

Bedell says they’ll be managing a new group lodging facility and a second reception centre is also being opened at that location.

He says there have been lengthy waits for evacuees looking to get supports but he believes that will improve soon

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10:30 a.m.

Kelowna Fire Chief Travis Whiting says officials don’t anticipate any changes to alerts or evacuation orders for at least the next day or so.

Whiting estimates five homes have been lost in Kelowna.

Lake Country District Chief Darren Lee estimates two to three structures have been lost in his community.

10:20 a.m.

West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund says at least 50 structures have been lost in the community, but some of the most heavily damaged neighbourhoods have not been assessed yet.

Brolund says there will be a “systematic approach” to allowing people to return home, but only when it’s safe to do so.

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10 a.m.

Officials with the Central Okanagan Regional District say there are 9,855 properties on evacuation order as of this morning, a situation they call “unprecedented”

BC Wildfire Service’s Jerrad Schroeder says today is “another good day to fight fires” and they are not expecting any explosive growth.

West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund says no new structures have been lost in the last 24 hours.

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9:38 a.m.

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is urging the prime minister to provide financial assistance to help residents who were forced to evacuate due to raging wildfires.

He says in a statement that the government should support communities in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories by reassuring them they won’t be alone once the crisis passes and they look to rebuild.

Singh says Justin Trudeau should commit to the support at this week’s Liberal cabinet retreat in Charlottetown.

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8:31 a.m.

Kelowna’s provincial courthouse, including its registry, will reopen today.

It says processes will resume as scheduled until further notice.

The provincial court closed Friday due to the McDougall Creek wildfire and evacuation orders.

It says it will continue to monitor the situation and announce all changes and impacts to courts on its website.

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7:45 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadians are “watching in horror the images of apocalyptic devastation” as wildfires rage in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.

He says the federal government is closely monitoring the fires in Kelowna and Yellowknife, adding that members of the Canadian Armed Forces have been deployed to B.C.

Trudeau says wildfires will be a main topic at this week’s Liberal cabinet retreat in Charlottetown.

He says the federal government is also hosting an Incident Response Group meeting this afternoon in P.E.I. to make sure Ottawa doing everything necessary to keep people safe and co-ordinate with provinces.

Trudeau says federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan will be attending that meeting virtually from B.C., where he is leading the federal efforts for the province.

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7 a.m.

The BC Wildfire Service says crews were working overnight to control the Bush Creek East blaze in Columbia Shuswap in the southern Interior.

That blaze, which is now about 410 square kilometres in size, merged and encompassed the Adams Lake wildfire this weekend.

The service says in a post on social media that, as of 11 p.m. Sunday, weather systems were influenced by tropical storm Hilary, over Southern California.

It says winds are expected to reach 20 kilometres per hour today, with gusts up to 40.

The service says while there is an ongoing potential for extreme fire behaviour, crews are getting assistance from smoke cover, which is helping tame fires and are hoping the forecast that calls for two to three millimetres of rain brings much-needed help.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2023.