Cooler weather allows B.C. government to cancel state of emergency

VICTORIA – The British Columbia government has cancelled the state of emergency it declared in August when hundreds of wildfires covered the province.

The government says cooler weather and progress in containing the forest fires means the powers granted under the provincial state of emergency are no longer required.

There's been a significant reduction in the number of properties under evacuation order and a news release says many residents have been allowed to return home.

The declaration was made to ensure public safety and the co-ordinated response to the summer wildfire season that has seen more than 13,000 square kilometres burned.

The wildfire season isn't over with 485 fires still burning, 19 evacuation orders in place covering about 2,000 people, and evacuation alerts affect almost 4,900 residents.

This is the second year in a row a state of emergency was declared over the wildfires, but last year's declaration remained in place from early July to mid-September.