B.C. takes action ahead of summer wildfire season

Press Release

June 12, 2024

VANCOUVER – As B.C. transitions into warmer, drier summer months, the Province continues to take action to help keep people and communities safe from wildfires.

This includes additional and faster support for people evacuated from their homes during an emergency.

“The spring rains were very welcome and have helped with fire suppression in some parts of B.C., but we will continue to experience drought and a higher risk of wildfires over the coming months,” said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests. “We are taking action on all fronts to protect communities, homes and people through wildfires and climate emergencies.”

As shown in the BC Wildfire Service’s latest seasonal outlook, some regions of the province, notably the coast and southern parts of B.C., have received increased moisture over winter and spring. Other areas, including the northeastern parts of the province, are experiencing prolonged drought and are expected to remain at high risk for wildfire.

To better support people who cannot meet their own needs during evacuations from wildfires and other climate emergencies, the Province is introducing several improved measures stemming from the Premier’s Expert Task Force on Emergencies, including:

• Introducing an accommodation allowance of $200 per night, which is available through Interac e-transfer or at reception centres. This will provide people with greater flexibility choosing where they stay during an evacuation, whether to stay with family or friends, find a hotel on their own or stay at a campground.  Alternatively, people can still receive a direct referral to a hotel or other accommodation from their local government or First Nation.
• A new Interac e-transfer direct deposit payment option for people who need help securing accommodation during large-scale evacuations. This will help cut down on long lineups at evacuation reception centres and allow people more flexibility and quicker access to emergency funds during an evacuation. People will also have the option of visiting a reception centre to receive financial support in person.
• Updating and redesigning the EmergencyInfoBC website (https://www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca/) to improve user experience, especially on mobile devices. This includes introducing a new easy-to-use share feature, inviting people to share validated and accurate emergency information with their social network, such as X and Facebook.

“During large-scale evacuations, people are often travelling at late hours of the night and may face long lines at evacuee reception centres before they can receive a referral to a hotel,” said Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness. “By increasing the accommodation allowance and giving people the option to receive financial support directly to their bank account, we’re empowering people with more options to find suitable accommodation for themselves and their loved ones during times of crisis.”

People can access the Interac e-transfer support by creating a profile at https://ess.gov.bc.ca/. When there is a large-scale evacuation, people who have created an Emergency Support Services (ESS) profile can log into the online self-service registration tool to receive instructions about the types of supports available to them and how they can be accessed. People are encouraged to create a profile before an emergency as part of their preparedness. The online self-service registration tool may only be available during large-scale evacuations.

“The ability for ESS teams to provide evacuees with the means to find and pay for accommodations that suit them and their families is a significant advancement to how the Province supports evacuees,” said Tanya Spooner, manager of emergency programs, City of Prince George, and member, Premier’s Expert Task Force on Emergencies. “This new option gives evacuees greater choice in accommodation types and locations.”

People are encouraged to consider getting home or tenant insurance, which is one of the best ways people can protect their families in the event of an emergency. In B.C, home insurance that provides coverage for fire damage and losses is widely available in every community across B.C. Both home and tenant insurance policies typically have additional coverage for living expenses while the person is under evacuation order.

More details about the BC Wildfire Service’s latest forecast, improvements to EmergencyInfoBC, enhancements by the BC Wildfire Service and how people can best prepare them and their properties for wildfire are available in Backgrounder 2.

Learn More:

People who may need support with the cost of accommodation, travel, food, clothing or incidentals during an emergency can create an Emergency Support Services profile here: https://ess.gov.bc.ca/

Emergency information, including active evacuation orders and alerts, can be found at @EmergencyInofBC on X (formerly Twitter) or https://www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca/

For preparedness guides from PreparedBC, including floods, wildfires and extreme heat, visit: https://www.preparedbc.ca

For tips about how to prepare grab-and-go bags, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-management/preparedbc/build-an-emergency-kit-and-grab-and-go-bag

To learn about how to prepare for wildfires, visit: https://firesmartbc.ca/

Real-time wildfire information can be found on the BC Wildfire Service mobile app, which is available for Apple and Android users, or at: https://wildfiresituation.nrs.gov.bc.ca/map

To learn about flood conditions and advisories, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/air-land-water/water/drought-flooding-dikes-dams/river-forecast-centre

To learn more about BC Wildfire Service fleet and equipment upgrades, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/30312

To learn more about the enhanced wildland-firefighter recruitment strategy, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/30188

To learn more about the new streamlined ESS training, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/30476

To learn more about the new BC Wildfire Service wildfire predictive technologies, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024FOR0013-000364

To learn more about the Premier’s Expert Task Force on Emergencies, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-management/emergency-management/emergency-activation/em-taskforce

Two backgrounders follow.

Contacts:

Ministry of Forests
Media Relations
250 896-4320

Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness
Media Relations
250 880-6430

BACKGROUNDER 1

Facts about wildfire season, available supports

• BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) has been actively monitoring and responding to more than 90 holdover fires from the end of the 2023 fire season, the majority in the Prince George Fire Centre.
• BCWS has been assigning resources to areas with identified hotspots from holdover wildfires since early spring.
• Only 12 areas of growth occurred on the more than 7,300 kilometres of holdover fire perimeter by the end of May 2024.
• In 2023, approximately 2.84 million hectares burned in wildfires in B.C. and more than 600 residential structures were destroyed or damaged.
• Emergency Support Services (ESS) is a provincial program delivered by local governments and First Nations to provide short-term basic support to people affected by disasters.
• ESS direct Interact e-transfer was introduced by the Province in 2022 to help people receive funds to cover their basic needs, including food and clothing. It is now being expanded to include accommodation costs.
• BC Emergency Alerts helped people get access to timely, potentially life-saving information when they needed it.
• In 2023, the Province issued 24 emergency alerts for wildfire evacuation orders on behalf of communities.
• Approximately 80% of people access emergency information from their mobile devices.
• Updates to EmergencyInfoBC ensures people can quickly and easily identify relevant hazards and navigate the site efficiently, even under stressful circumstances.
• Since 2017, the Province has provided more than $222 million to First Nations and local governments through the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund to enhance their resilience in responding to emergencies and mitigating future climate-related risks. Half of this funding was allocated in 2023.
• Throughout the 2023 wildfire season, approximately 48,900 people were placed under evacuation order and 137,000 were placed on evacuation alert.

Contacts:

Ministry of Forests
Media Relations
250 896-4320

Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness
Media Relations
250 880-6430

BACKGROUNDER 2

What to know about BC Wildfire summer forecast

BC Wildfire Service’s (BCWS) latest seasonal outlook for 2024 forecasts that for some areas of B.C. may face a potentially challenging 2024 wildfire season.

While some regions of the province, notably the coast, have received increased moisture over winter and spring, other areas are expected to remain at high risk for wildfire.

The underlying severe drought conditions in northeastern B.C., in addition to holdover wildfires, means this region is particularly at risk of significant wildfires, as seen recently in the Fort Nelson area.

For parts of central and southern B.C., a cool, wet period through the middle of June has relieved some of the extreme conditions, but weather forecasts show hot and dry weather into the summer months. Dry pockets include the southwestern Interior and Chilcotin regions.

Premier’s Expert Task Force on Emergencies:

The Province, including the BC Wildfire Service, is well prepared for the summer season. Guided in part by the recently released Premier’s Expert Task Force on Emergencies report, the Province has enhanced support for evacuees and wildfire preparedness in B.C.

This work includes:

• strengthening the BC Wildfire Service and enhancing wildland-firefighter recruitment;
• securing more equipment, planes and helicopters;
• deploying new technologies and innovation;
• increasing prevention work;
• funding for communities to better support people evacuated from their homes;
• readying more volunteers to support people who are evacuated;
• improving financial assistance to people who have been evacuated from their home; and
• creating new pathways for people to register online for evacuation support.

Updated technologies for people in wildfire areas are also providing enhanced information and services. The BCWS app has had major upgrades to better connect people to the latest wildfire and fire-ban information.

Improved access to emergency information:

In the age of social media, it can be difficult to know where to find the most accurate and reliable information about emergencies.

As part of the recommendation from the Premier’s Expert Task Force on Emergencies to provide quick and direct access to reliable emergency information, the Province has updated and redesigned https://www.EmergencyInfoBC.ca/ to introduce new features that enhance user experience and ensure critical emergency information is available to people when they need it.

New features include the latest evacuation alerts and orders at the top of the webpage, an interactive map and links to other resources, which will help people prepare for an emergency. The new design has been optimized to make it easier to navigate from cellphones even under stressful circumstances.

Each emergency event added to the website includes an easy share button, inviting people to share validated emergency information with their own social networks on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.

People are encouraged to spend a few minutes familiarizing themselves with the redesigned website before an emergency.

Being prepared:

Being prepared for an emergency is a team effort. People are encouraged to consider steps they can take to increase their household preparedness.

This includes:

• creating an evacuation plan using the Emergency Ready planner, which is a new, online interactive tool to help people create a personalized emergency and evacuation plan, at https://preparedbc.ca/EmergencyReady;
• updating home insurance policies;
• knowing where to find trusted emergency information;
• staying informed about weather alerts;
• creating an online profile if you’ll need support during an emergency at https://ess.gov.bc.ca/;
• making your home more resistant to wildfire damage by taking action to FireSmart your property; and
• building an emergency kit that includes essentials, such as water, non-perishable food, medication and a first-aid kit.

Contacts:

Ministry of Forests
Media Relations
250 896-4320

Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness
Media Relations
250 880-6430

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