Trees burnt by the White Rock Lake wildfire earlier this month are seen, in Monte Lake, B.C., Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. The B.C. government is ending a provincial state of emergency because of wildfires on Tuesday night. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

British Columbia to end state of emergency caused by wildfires

VICTORIA – The B.C. government is ending a provincial state of emergency because of wildfires on Tuesday night.

The government says it is taking the step based on advice from emergency management and wildfire officials.

It says the wildfire season is not over and the public needs to remain prepared and follow the direction of local authorities.

The state of emergency was declared on July 20 and will expire at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday.

As of Monday, 205 wildfires were burning in B.C., with three evacuation orders still in place affecting about 223 properties.

So far this year, 1,585 fires have burned 868,619 hectares of land in the province.

At the height of the summer, more than 3,600 personnel were helping fight the fires, including help from Mexico, Australia and across Canada.

The provincial government says about 32,000 people were displaced by the fires.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Monday, Sept. 13, 2021.

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Marshall Jones

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