The Government of British Columbia has announced a Level 3 drought rating for the North Thompson and South Thompson regions.

At noon on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, an expanded area restriction for all Crown land in the vicinity of the Elephant Hill wildfire came into effect. It will remain in place until the earlier of noon on Oct. 31, 2017 or until the order is rescinded. This restriction has been put in place to protect public safety and to ensure the safety of firefighting personnel who continue with fire suppression activities.

Ten kilometres of new wildlife-exclusion fencing will be built along the Coquihalla Highway south of Merritt, increasing safety for motorists by preventing wildlife-vehicle collisions.

Due to reduced fire activity and recent progress made on the Dunn Lake wildfire by firefighting crews, the BC Wildfire Service has rescinded the area restriction order that was implemented on July 7, 2017, for the area around this fire.

Construction is getting underway on new passing lanes on Highway 5 between Barriere and Little Fort, near Darfield, improving safety along this stretch of the Yellowhead Highway north of Kamloops.

With no relief in sight in the weather forecast, B.C.’s wildfire emergency is expected to continue over the next few weeks. To ensure that adequate resources are available to continue in the fight, more international personnel are on the way.

BC Parks, in co-ordination with the BC Wildfire Service and Recreation Sites and Trails BC, will close backcountry access to specific areas of Wells Gray Provincial Park effective at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017. This step is being taken to help protect public safety.

The ministry is advising motorists to plan ahead, check real-time traffic conditions on DriveBC.ca and expect delays on the Coquihalla Highway this upcoming B.C. Day long weekend.

Smoke from a large fire burning in Washington State has been highly visible in the Penticton Fire Zone and in much of southern B.C. recently. The smoke is expected to be seen in the area for the next few days. For more information about wildfires burning in the U.S. please visit: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/