August 04, 2009
THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER – Officials in British Columbia are considering calling in reinforcements from the U.S. and Australia for added help in battling the forest fires raging in the province's interior.
Fire personnel from Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, among others, have already arrived in B.C. as the province suffers through a season that's already seen more than 2,200 fires.
Radha Fisher of the B.C. Forest Service says a formal decision on calling in reinforcements has not yet been made but she says it's definitely on the table.
Thousands of British Columbians are currently evacuated as the province is hit with tinder-dry conditions and record-setting temperatures.
More than 2,000 residents from the town of Lillooet were evacuated on Sunday night, after a fire that was one kilometre away from the community for days suddenly took a turn for the worse. That blaze, on Mount McLean, grew to more than 33 square kilometres Monday and officials say high winds could fan the flames even more.
Another blaze near Fintry has forced out 2,500 residents and 2,200 others are on evacuation alert
The provincial forest firefighting budget for this year was $61 million, but a Ministry of Forests spokesman says fighting the fires has already cost the province $109 million.
THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER – Officials in British Columbia are considering calling in reinforcements from the U.S. and Australia for added help in battling the forest fires raging in the province's interior.
Fire personnel from Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, among others, have already arrived in B.C. as the province suffers through a season that's already seen more than 2,200 fires.
Radha Fisher of the B.C. Forest Service says a formal decision on calling in reinforcements has not yet been made but she says it's definitely on the table.
Thousands of British Columbians are currently evacuated as the province is hit with tinder-dry conditions and record-setting temperatures.
More than 2,000 residents from the town of Lillooet were evacuated on Sunday night, after a fire that was one kilometre away from the community for days suddenly took a turn for the worse. That blaze, on Mount McLean, grew to more than 33 square kilometres Monday and officials say high winds could fan the flames even more.
Another blaze near Fintry has forced out 2,500 residents and 2,200 others are on evacuation alert
The provincial forest firefighting budget for this year was $61 million, but a Ministry of Forests spokesman says fighting the fires has already cost the province $109 million.
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