An estimated 400 buildings — most of them homes — have been destroyed by wildfires this summer in B.C., according to the premier.
Premier David Eby was in Kamloops on Monday morning speaking to reporters ahead of a tour of the devastation in the Shuswap, where the Bush Creek East fire last month destroyed an estimated 270 structures.
“I understand from the latest numbers I’ve heard from the wildfire service somewhere around 400 structures, most of which people can assume are homes of folks in fire-affected areas, burned to the ground or totally destroyed this year,” he said.
Ninety structures are believed to have been destroyed by the McDougall Creek fire in West Kelowna, in addition to others elsewhere in the Central Okanagan.
Eby said the province is now working to begin recovery efforts while preparing for another potential disaster — slope-stability issues in fire-affected areas.
“There’s a great deal of urgency because the scale of this wildfire season was so historic, and because we’re going into another season now where we’re dealing with both drought and, simultaneously, the possibility of significant rainfall,” he said.
“We have to do our recovery planning at the same time as we’re in an active state of emergency.”
Eby said his government has been working with Ottawa to make sure B.C. communities have emergency disaster relief funding.
The premier announced a task force Monday to examine the province’s response to this summer’s wildfires.
