By Cheryl Jahn

Minister urges preparedness during week-long PG visit

Jun 27, 2024 | 3:27 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – After touring Prince George and region for the past week, the Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, Bowinn Ma held a brief media presentation to talk about the situation in the Northeast, which is looking at drought conditions despite the persistent rain.

“This region is still relatively dry and with lightning storms being more common as we move into the summer, we must remain cautious,” she says. “We have already seen some new fire starts due to lightning throughout the Prince George Fire region. There are currently 93 wildfires burning across B.C. and the majority of them are in the northwest region of the province. But fortunately, none are considered wildfires of note.”

And she recommitted to some additional resources.

“We’ve boosted wildfire fighting equipment and aircraft, and we’re using new and innovative predictive technologies so that we can better understand and fight wildfires. And we are building a $21 million equipment depot right here in Prince George to support efforts across the North.”

“So currently we have an existing depot in both Chilliwack and then one in Prince George,” explains Forrest Tower with the BC Wildfire Service. “That’s a very small one. It’s our zone office downtown. It’s where we keep all of our obvious firefighting equipment that gets shipped out around the province. But then also really importantly, it’s where all our fire camp equipment is kept in. Those are those very large trailers. So needing more space. An increased size facility in Prince George gives us a lot more flexibility in moving much more equipment around a lot faster, obviously, from the weather.”

Vanderhoof Pride

First ever Vanderhoof drag show sees strong community support

6h ago

Fatal MVI

Fatal crash on Massey Drive

7h ago

Exploration Place

Exploration Place welcomes new Executive Director

10h ago