B.C. to end state of emergency as wildfire risk winds down
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 14 Sep, 2023 05:12 PM
The British Columbia government says it is ending the state of emergency imposed last month when thousands of residents were chased out of their homes by wildfires.
The government says in a statement the wildfire risk is diminishing in much of the province as temperatures cool, allowing most residents to return home.
Special weather statements have been issued by Environment Canada including the Cariboo, West Columbia and Williston regions, with a prediction of 10 to 20 centimetres of snow starting Friday night.
Police say preliminary reports into the crash on Wednesday indicate the driver of the vehicle lost control, slammed through a fence and landed in the in-ground pool.
Politicians jet-setting to different vacation destinations drew much attention last year as federal and provincial governments told Canadians to forgo their travel and gathering plans to combat rising COVID-19 caseloads.
Early data suggests Omicron is more transmissible than the currently dominant Delta variant, with a doubling time of about two days. British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix says the province is considering further public health orders on public and private gatherings, with an announcement expected next week.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first pledged the quick reaction force to a future UN mission while hosting an international peacekeeping summit in Vancouver in 2017, yet the Liberal government has yet to make good on the promise.
Canada has recorded its 30,000th COVID-19 death since the pandemic began in early 2020, surpassing a grim milestone just as the country braces for the potential fallout of surging infections driven by the Omicron variant.