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Provincial emergency officials are scheduled to hold a 1 p.m. briefing on the province’s escalating wildfire crisis, Friday.
Global News will carry the briefing live here on our website, on Facebook Live and on BC1.
Speakers will include Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Bowinn Ma, Forests Minister Bruce Ralston, and representatives from the BC Wildfire Service, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, and BC Hydro.
The update comes with the province in the grips of what is expected to be the most dangerous 48 hours of year’s wildfire season.
A multi-day heatwave has given way to a cold front with powerful winds, which have whipped up fires in many parts of the province.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in West Kelowna, where officials said Friday the McDougall Creek wildfire has destroyed a “significant” number of homes. That fire also jumped Okanagan Lake, forcing evacuations in Kelowna as well.
Highway 1 between Hope and Lytton was also closed Thursday night as wildfires in the area flared up, prompting evacuations north of Boston Bar.
A number of other wildfires, including the Crater Creek fire near Keremeos, the Lower East Adams Lake fire north of Chase, the Ross Moore Lake fire near Kamloops and the Downton Lake and Casper Creek fires west of Lillooet have also seen dangerously renewed activity and prompted expanded evacuation orders.
You can find out more about how to prepare for a wildfire evacuation here.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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