Travel to B.C.’s southeast, Central Interior restricted, provincial government says
The B.C. government will be temporarily restricting travel to fire-affected areas as wildfires threaten thousands in the Central Interior and southeast.
The new order will restrict non-essential travellers and tourists from booking temporary accommodations in Kelowna, West Kelowna, Kamloops, Oliver, Osoyoos, Penticton and Vernon. This includes motels, hotels and campgrounds.
Those who are already staying in temporary accommodations in these areas are being asked to voluntarily check out early to free up space for evacuees and front-line workers.
The order does not impact essential travel into the region, including:
Due to significant <a href=«https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCWildfire?src=hash&ref_src=» https:>#BCWildfire
activity, please don't travel for non-essential reasons to Central Interior and Southeast BC. An emergency order is in place in the Okanagan to free up temporary accommodation like hotels, motels & campgrounds. Follow <a href=«https://twitter.com/EmergencyInfoBC?ref_src=» https:>@EmergencyInfoBC pic.twitter.com/RRPtYYXX0f
— BC Government News (@BCGovNews) <a href=«https://twitter.com/BCGovNews/status/1693018544265625655?ref_src=» https:>August 19, 2023
This comes after the B.C. government issued a provincial state of emergency on Friday due to the rapidly escalating crisis.
As of Saturday, there are 380 active wildfires burning in B.C. Fifteen of those are wildfires of note. More than 160 are considered “out of control.”
Around 35,000 people are affected by evacuation orders across the province, Premier David Eby said on Saturday. About 30,000 people are affected by evacuation alerts.
Of those, 9,444 people are under evacuation alert in Kelowna, West Kelowna and Lake Country. Around 10,782 people in those
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