Over 400 Structures Damaged

Four-hundred and 31 structures have been damaged by wildfires this season in BC.

Chris Duffy from Emergency Management BC says about half of those are homes, and the amount of damage varies.

“They’ve had fire impingement, so there’s going to be a gradient of effect there. Some of those would be completely burned, some of those would be partially  burned,” says Duffy.

About half of the damaged structures, 212, are in the Northeast zone (Prince George-Cariboo region), while 214 are in the Central zone which includes Kamloops and the Okanagan.

Eight homes were destroyed by the suspicious Okanagan Centre fire in Lake Country July 15.

Five structures have been damaged in the Southeast zone (Kootenays).

Duffy says 4,868 residents are covered by 21 evacuation orders in BC, while 44 evacuation alerts impact 15,140 people.

There are 158 fires burning in BC — including three new fires since Tuesday.

There have been 1,212 fires this season, burning a record 1, 152,890 hectares and costing $473 million to fight.