BC wildfires: Travel restricted from fire zones as evacuations soar, Eby orders | FULL

British Columbia Premier David Eby and other officials announced an order to restrict travel to wildfire zones during an update Saturday, as 35,000 B.C. residents are now on evacuation order.

“If you do not need to travel to these areas for essential reasons, we need you to change your plans. This will ensure that accommodations like hotels and motels are available for evacuees and frontline responders in the Okanagan,” Eby said.

Bowinn Ma, minister of emergency management and climate readiness, said the order includes Kelowna, Kamloops, Oliver, Osoyoos, Penticton and the Shuswap area.

“We cannot stress strongly enough how critical it is to follow evacuation orders when they are issued. We do not issue these orders lightly. They are a matter of life and death, not only for the people in those properties, but also for the first responders who will often go back to try to implore people to leave. The greatest consequence of ignoring an evacuation order is the loss of life,” Ma warned.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/9907262/mcdougall-creek-wildfire-update-aug-19-2023/

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