Canada musters military to fight wildfires, 39,000 evacuated (updated)
17/07/2017 20:03
(Adds details on firefighting, cattle)
CALGARY, Alberta, July 17 (Reuters) - Canada was deploying
military aircraft and Australia was sending 50 firefighters to
battle rapidly spreading wildfires in British Columbia that have
forced 39,000 people from their homes, federal Public Safety
Minister Ralph Goodale said on Monday.
Goodale told reporters that the provincial government had
made two requests of the federal government for military
assistance to fight the fires, which he said were expected to
worsen.
The military has sent two planes and five helicopters to
help with evacuations and transportation for first responders,
according to the Department of National Defence.
Goodale's spokesman Scott Bardsley said the Australians were
due to arrive on July 19.
Local governments issued more than a dozen evacuation
notices over the weekend, increasing the number of evacuees to
39,000 from 14,000 last week, according to British Columbia's
Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
British Columbia has announced C$100 million ($78 million)
in emergency funds. The Canadian Red Cross will hand out
stipends of C$600 for displaced people and additional money for
rebuilding.
Other jurisdictions have agreed to send some 260 personnel
to the area.
The fires were burning across an area ranging from 150 km
(95 miles) to 350 km northeast of Vancouver and have affected
public utilities and industries including timer and mining.
West Fraser Timber Co WFT.TO , Norbord Inc OSB.TO and
privately held Tolko, among the largest Canadian producers of
forestry products, have suspended some operations. Disruptions
were expected to tighten the supply of wood products and raise
prices. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1K214V
Tolko said on Monday that many of its employees had been
forced from homes and resources in the city of Kamloops, which
has been taking in evacuees, may be quickly overwhelmed.
Pipeline operator Enbridge Inc ENB.TO , which has taken a
natural gas compressor station offline and canceled planned
maintenance work, said on Sunday it had no firm timeline for
restarting the station or resuming work.
Some 30,000 cattle were being threatened by flames, smoke
and loss of grass for grazing, said Kevin Boon, general manager
of the British Columbia Cattlemen's Association.
Boon said this was not affecting cattle prices beyond the
province, which is a relatively small producer.
EnGold Mines Ltd EGM.V has suspended exploration. Imperial
Metals Corp III.TO said in a statement on Monday that it had
suspended operations at its Mount Polley mine.
"Mount Polley will resume operations once the situation
stabilizes," it said.
In 2016, forest fires in Fort McMurray in neighboring
Alberta province displaced 88,000 people and burned 590,000
hectares.
(Reporting by Ethan Lou in Calgary, Alberta; Additional
reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Toni
Reinhold)
((Ethan.Lou@thomsonreuters.com; +1-403-531-1634; Reuters
Messaging: ethan.lou.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: CANADA WILDFIRE/