 It's been a difficult 24 hours in the province for our front line, first responders, for the wildfire fighters, and also for communities, for families, for people affected by evacuation orders. While we're expecting some more favorable weather, I understand the situation is still incredibly serious across the province. BC wildfire service and their partners are actively working on fire services. They are also working on fire services across the province, including in Fraser Canyon, Shuswa, Okinawa and Amor. We have our first assessment in from West Cologne only, that at least 50 structures are confirmed destroyed by fire in that area. This is a first formal assessment. It's reasonable to assume that most, if not all of these structures are homes, which means that these homes are gone. These are families who have lost everything. It is also probably news that is only going to get worse as assessments continue. This is just our first assessment of the West Cologne or other communities that have lost homes and those assessments will come in and that information will be provided as it comes available. A heavy urban search and rescue team is now working in the Kelowna area, providing those assessments to local government to get that information available to the community. And in order for us to be able to move people home when they can and when it's safe. Tomorrow, I'll be traveling with Minister Ralston and Minister Ma to fire affected areas. Our goal is to reassure people that we will be there when the crisis passes to help them rebuild, but also to get information from the front line about what communities need to ensure the government is as responsible as possible. We will also be able to provide information to the community to ensure the government is as responsive as possible. We are working closely with the federal government as well on supporting people in the aftermath of this horrific disaster that they are facing. For British Columbians, we need everybody to really do their part right now. Listen to and respect the travel order. It is critical that we keep the roads clear, that we keep the hotels available for people, and be cautious out there. It's a very dangerous and fluid situation still. Please understand, it's a very stressful situation for people in these local areas. The last thing they need is disaster tourists coming and interfering with rescue efforts. We need to understand that people in these communities need the compassion and concern of all British Columbians. And certainly that is what we're seeing. Unfortunately, we are getting reports that some people are tampering with firefighter equipment. Moving it to different locations where they think it might be more needed. And we'll put the best possible understanding on this that people think they're helping. They are not. You are not helping if you're moving firefighter equipment. Firefighters are experts. The equipment is put there for a reason. And when it's not there, when the firefighters go to get it, that is a big thing. We need to understand that we need to tamper with firefighter equipment. We have also had isolated reports of mischief in some areas, including theft. And so there will be increased enforcement by the RCMP in areas where we have seen those reports. In closing, I just want to say that we're very grateful for the hope that's been provided to community members by front-line firefighters who are putting their lives on the line to support community members. I just want to say thank you to all the non-profit officials and First Nations, leadership and members who are on the front-line supporting right now. Getting information out. Thank you to everybody who is doing that critically important work across the province right now. There's also an incredible amount of hope coming from the actions of British Colombians supporting each other. We've seen people donating blankets, pet food to people that are in emergency shelters, in the same way that a number of Americans coming together like that. The firefighters in Scotch Creek lost their fire hall and they are still in front-lines fighting fires right now. It's a shared fight out there right now. We'll get through it together. I'm very grateful to everybody who is helping to respond in every way that they can. Without all that, I will turn things over to Minister Ma for her update. all of you today from the territories of the Musqueam, the Squamish and the Slewa Toth peoples. First and foremost, I want to express my heartfelt condolences to everybody impacted by the ongoing wildfire situation. Those who have learned they have lost their homes and belongings in the wake of the devastating fires that we have experienced over the past weekend and those who are still waiting for news. The pain, the sorrow, the uncertainty that you must be feeling is immeasurable and I want you to know that we are with you during this incredibly difficult time. I would like to recognize the heroic efforts of the BC wildfire service firefighters, local department wildfires, local department firefighters and volunteer firefighters who have worked tirelessly over the past 72 hours and all season to protect people and keep communities safe. Some of these brave firefighters had to witness their own homes succumb to flames while they turned their attention to protecting the homes of their neighbors and fellow community members. To go through that emotional toil while selflessly protecting the homes of their neighbors and community members speaks to the character of our firefighting community. These brave men and women are demonstrating the meaning of courage in the face of the community. I would also like to acknowledge our RCMP officers, emergency management personnel, emergency support services personnel and volunteers, healthcare professionals for working throughout the weekend to protect people. It missed the challenges that we are facing. The spirit of the community throughout British Columbia has been a shining beacon of hope. The stories I have heard of the generosity and compassion inspiring. People have opened their hearts and their homes to their neighbors. Businesses and restaurants have been bending over backwards to support their communities. I know many of the accommodation providers, restaurants and other businesses have extended their hours to accommodate the needs of the people. People from all walks of life are coming together to care, protect and support one another. This is a team effort and it is exactly what we need. Thank you. As of this morning, there are more than 27,000 people under evacuation order and more than 35,000 on evacuation alert. This highlights the scale of the challenge that our emergency management teams and first responders are facing. Their coordinated efforts have been nothing short of remarkable. The wildfire situation continues to be extremely serious, impacting tens of thousands of people. I know that some people in the Kelowna area have had to go to the emergency reception center during this difficult time. Evacuees waiting for services have been very patient as local authorities work through this monumental effort. We have been taking action along with the local authority who runs the center to get support to people faster. The number of emergency support volunteers on the ground in Kelowna has been doubled since Friday. There are now more local volunteers working as quickly as possible. I know that everyone has a place to stay. We are also starting to send ... Pardon me, we have already started to send. Evacuees from the queue to their accommodations immediately. Some people started getting phone calls and emails yesterday afternoon with these direct accommodation placements and the local authority expects that process to be complete today. Emergency support services volunteers will then follow up over the next couple of days. Several communities have also stepped up to provide virtual supports in order to help register people and we are very grateful to them. When possible, I am asking everyone in the interior as well as the southeast and across British Columbia to please pre-register with emergency support services online at ESS.gov.bc.ca. I want to thank people for their patients during this difficult time. Everyone will be taken care of. We hope that the darkest days are behind us. But the situation is still evolving and the dangers we face are still extreme. By taking the steps to be prepared by following evacuation orders and alerts you are doing everything that you can to protect your community. Please continue to be prepared. Have an emergency plan and a grab-and-go kit ready for you, your family and your pets. Your first nation or local authority will provide information on evacuation routes and evacuation reception centers where you can access emergency support services. I know that this is said every time that we are up here but it bears repeating because I cannot stress it enough. If you are under an evacuation order, you must leave immediately. This isn't a suggestion. It is the law. You may think that you are helping yourself or your neighbors by staying behind or supporting individuals who are staying behind with food or supply runs but you are not. You are making a high dangerous situation even more dangerous for everyone involved. I want to thank everybody who has been heeding the evacuation orders and leaving in a safe and orderly manner but for those who are not, heed this call. Leave. Do not stay behind. On Friday we declared a provincial state of emergency given the severe and fast changing circumstances that we are in. This declaration gives the province extraordinary powers to keep people communities and first responders safe and on Saturday we issued an order to restrict travel to a number of communities in the Okanagan for the purposes of staying at short-term accommodation. We need hotel and motel rooms available for people and families that have been forced to evacuate and for our frontline responders as well. The affected areas of this order include Kelowna, West Coast, Oliver, Soyuz, Pantikton and Vernon. So let me be clear, temporary accommodation in the areas I have listed is no longer available for non-essential visits. Thank you again to people for heeding our calls to stay away from fire impacted communities entirely. Your compassion and your quick action has made a huge difference. We continue to ask everyone not to travel to the Okanagan or West Coast, but to stay out of tourism or other non-essential purposes. Parts of the Fraser Canyon are also struggling. With that being said, conditions have improved in the southeastern portion of British Columbia and I know that communities there are looking forward to welcoming tourists. So we are no longer asking people to stay out of the southeast in its entirety, but there is still a need to recreate responsibly. Check Drive BC before you go. Understand that the risk of new wildfires and changing conditions still exist and pay attention to the needs of the local communities that you are visiting. We all need to give BC wildfire service personnel and emergency responders the space that they need to keep us safe. Before I turn it over to Minister Ralston, I would like to thank the federal government for approving our efforts and other federal resources to assist with evacuation, staging, and other logistical tasks. The federal government has made a military camp in Vernon available as accommodation for evacuees and a strategic facility for firefighting operation. We expect it to be open today. The heavy urban search and rescue task force is in the Okanagan and the Shoeshwap. They are assisting the regional districts with damage assessment. I would also like to thank the federal government for approving our efforts and establishing a lodging center in risk Creek to accommodate their members and indigenous people across the province as needed. The level of coordination and cooperation we are experiencing across governments, first nations and emergency personnel is unprecedented. I know right now a lot of people have also been asking how they can help. The outpouring of support from the Canadian Red Cross and United Way, British Columbia are among several organizations that have joined this effort. Additionally, the BC SPCA is providing emergency boarding for pets of evacuees and has pet food and supplies available for those in need. To view a list of other registered charities that are helping to collect donations, please visit Canada helps.org. Thank you. I will now turn it over to Minister Mah. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests. I'm honored to be here on the territory of the Muscovines, Squamish and Slavitooth peoples. Let me echo the words of the Premier and Minister Mah. My thoughts are with every person and family impacted by the wildfire situation. Our priority is keeping people safe and responding to the emergency. I too wish to thank all those fighting the fires and recognize their tremendous work. These last few days have been the most difficult days fighting wildfires in BC's history. While we have experienced great loss, the homes and communities saved this weekend in the face of grave threats is a testament to the skill and determination of all those working to fight those fires. To have your community, your home under threat of fire is extremely stressful and challenging. That said, we have had reports and the Premier mentioned this. We have had reports of some members of the public taking or moving fire equipment. This is not acceptable under any circumstances. When someone takes or moves fire equipment, they put their community and their neighbors at risk. Our first responders are literally putting their lives on the line to protect people's homes and livelihoods. We should not have to be concerned about whether their equipment will be there when they need it. I know the overwhelming majority of people are doing their very best to support fire crews. I implore the others to stop, consider the needs of the families, businesses and communities that they endanger by interfering with the firefighting effort. Again, I know that almost everyone is taking the actions that they are taking. I know many thousands of people are making deep sacrifices. Whether you are immediately impacted by an evacuation order or alert or anxiously checking on loved ones in impacted areas. It has been a long, stressful wildfire season for too many and our hearts are with the people, communities and First Nations impacted. We are doing everything we can and using every resource we can to ensure that our communities and communities across British Columbia are kept safe in communities across British Columbia. In Shushwap, central and south Ogunaghan, the Fraser Canyon, the north, the southeast and more. I know Cliff and the BC wildfire service can speak to how resources are deployed to tactically take on the fire situation. There are currently 386 people who continue to have approximately 3,500 personnel directly engaged in wildfire response efforts across the province. They are joined by hundreds of members of municipal fire departments assisting with structural protection and defense. There are now more than 652 structural firefighters deployed in coordination with the BC wildfire service right now. This is a record number for the number of firefighters in this province. I'm also pleased to update that on Wednesday this week, 100 additional Mexican firefighters will arrive in BC. In the days following, 200 South African personnel will arrive to assist in local firefighting efforts. Australia is once again stepping up to support with 18 specialized single resources such as division supervisors, and helicopter coordinators. We are immensely grateful to all our partners who continue to show up when we need them most. I know that the workload is challenging, but I am confident we have exactly the right people in place to manage this response. I'd also like to thank the federal government for making the military camp in Vernon available as accommodation for evacuees and a strategic facility for firefighting operations. Although the road ahead is still immensely challenging, we are fortunate that the weather forecast is more positive for most areas. There's also some rain possible for southern British Columbia in the coming days. Although it won't be the days of solid rain that we really need, it may be enough to allow fire crews to make more headway on the fires. Cooler temperatures, some rain unless wind in the forecast, will be continued to prepare for difficult conditions. I'd like to finish with a brief message to everyone on the fire line and everyone involved in this huge effort from our wildfire crews to the contractors and the municipal firefighters from Moran, BC. I know you are tired. The days have been long. The work is exhausting and demanding and the fire season isn't even close to being over yet. On behalf of the people of British Columbia, let me say we support you, we are thankful for the heroic work you're doing, and we continue to be grateful for your unwavering commitment to keeping people safe. Thank you. And now I'll turn it over to Cliff Chauffman. My name is Cliff Chauffman. I'm the director of provincial operations for BC wildfire service. I'm honored to join you in this equipment where I live and work today out of the provincial wildfire coordination center in Kamloops BC. I would also like to extend my empathy and the organization's empathy and understanding of the anxiety and stress that is inherent with fires that are impacting communities. We know it is stressful. We know you need information. We're doing everything we can to get you back into your communities to attack the fire as well as what has happened. Today I'm going to go through a run-through like I have on the last couple of availabilities where I'm going to walk us through with some visual aids, maps to show you what has been transpiring on the fires. But before I do that today I also just want to thank members of the public, the communities that are impacted, the communities that have been affected by the fires. And I know that's happening locally within our fire camps as well and even at gas stations when our crews are filling up their trucks. You have no idea how much this means to our organization and the people who are working in it. It is that type of recognition that keeps them going, that keeps them going on their fifth, sixth and seventh deployments of the year in August. I encourage everyone to continue to do that. Continue to thank those that you see that are actively engaged in response, actively engaged at your local EOCs. It means the world. I also want to address two pieces that have come up in the last couple of days around some challenges and some questions that are out there within the media but I think more importantly within the public. Recognizing that fire is really important. And I think that's one of the things that we see impacts like we are seeing in West Kelowna in the shoe swap in the Fraser Canyon. There's a lot of stress and anxiety about what happened and what are we doing now? And I appreciate these questions and rest assured we are doing everything we can to try to provide BC with as much information that we have on one what happened and what we are doing in the next couple of days for the McDougal fire and only the McDougal fire. Let me be very clear we are not only prioritizing the McDougal fire in West Kelowna and Kelowna. We have multiple priority fires across the province particularly in the southern portion of the province including but not limited to the Adams Lake complex Kukipi Creek wildfire as well as the fires that are in the Ashnola and a couple in the southeast. For clarity we have 164 people assigned to the McDougal Creek wildfire in Kelowna and West Kelowna. There are 385 people assigned to the Adams Lake complex. There's over 130 people assigned to Kukipi Creek and there's over 180 resources assigned to the Bender complex in the Fraser Canyon. We evaluate daily ground operations and make decisions on where the most potential and significant impact of the fires will be to life and property. That will continue for the rest of the fire season and we will see numbers go up and down based on what those potential impacts could be. The resources that Minister Ralston referenced coming into BC will be assigned largely to the fires within the Camus fire center and the Fraser Canyon and we will see those numbers of resources tick up from where they are today. The second piece I want to highlight is the practice that we refer to in wildfire as planned ignitions. Planned ignitions for clarity and in fairly simple terms is where we will build and or utilize an existing control line, something that is unflammable, a power line where we might use heavy equipment to get down the mineral soil, a lake, a highway or any variation of that, that was what we would call a control line. The first thing we would do is use the control line to fire and then we conduct a planned ignition utilizing weather experts, fire experts and operational experts based on what weather is currently on site and what weather is coming. The goal of a planned ignition is to work from the control line to the main body of the fire and remove all fuel by burning it. The main body of the fire generally has wind that draws into it and so when we light off of the control line, we will be able to eliminate fuels between the main body of the fire and anything past that control line. I want to specifically talk about the Adams Lake, lower east Adams fire. We did conduct a planned ignition on that fire last Thursday. We did it cautiously, we did it knowing that there was a cold front coming as BC is aware, we discussed the cold front coming on Wednesday and Thursday. We knew the winds were approaching going through the caribou fire center. There was a continuous line of fuel between the main body of the fire and all of the communities along the North Shushua. We did our planned ignition under the conditions in which we planned for and it was largely successful. I want to be perfectly clear that planned ignition saved hundreds of homes and properties along the North Shushua. Unfortunately with the wind that we knew was forecast and that was coming, that fire went above the control line that we burned off from and then swept back into the communities in the North Shushua. We were still successful in protecting some of those properties along the North Shushua in the hundreds. Unfortunately, we've also now seen the devastation, the main body of that fire had in areas like Scotch Creek, Solista and others and our hearts go out to those individuals who have seen the devastating impacts of that fire making its push. Our planned ignition is used quite frequently in BC. It is also used across the globe. When conditions are as dry as they are in a year like this in BC, traditional firefighting tactics like water bombers and ground operations will not be successful. Eliminating the fuel is in a lot of cases the best way to try to protect any infrastructure and values ahead of the front of a fire. And when we know that there's 40 to 50 kilometers sustained winds coming we knew that we had to eliminate that fuel and again I would like to stress it was largely successful and it protected hundreds of properties in the Shushua area. I also would like to just make one point of clarity that it was not our planned ignition that allowed the two fires in the Adams Lake area to merge. It was actually the cold front winds that pushed the fires together and merging them towards Highway One which ultimately led to the closure of Highway One. So I just want to thank everyone for hearing me out on those two pieces and now I'll go into a more thorough operational update. So as we sit today we do still see some extreme fire behavior being observed throughout the province. Right now we have not seen extreme fire behavior observed within the McDougal complex and we have seen actually a drop in fire behavior on the Adams Lake complex as well where we continue to see aggressive fire behavior is in the Fraser Canyon and that's due to the sustained winds of the valley and the valley orientation north to south in that valley. Continue to see a large response presence in that valley but with it we're still seeing some aggressive fire behavior. Starting in the Adams Lake complex again just for clarity the dots are somewhat of the growth over the last now it's the last 72 hours. Anything that's more colored was the perimeter of the fire pre last Thursday's cold front passage so you can see how much this fire has moved over the course of the last couple of days mostly on Thursday and Friday last week. You can see that it has crossed Highway 1 and is just sitting in between Chase and Sorrento on that side as well as you can see where some of the fire growth has been to the north and northeast towards the Shushua. We are fortunate and I'm happy to report that with the change in weather conditions we are able to get heavy equipment out on the ground. We've had the ability to get our ground resources back on the ground. Challenging for us on this fire today and likely tomorrow is going to be smoke impacts. Anyone who lives in the interior in Kamloops knows that we have a heavy blanket of smoke right now and visibility and transport Canada regulations it's going to be touch and go how much we can fly in the next 12 hours. Hoping that with a little bit of precipitation potentially coming that we may see that smoke clear and it will allow us to get our aviation fleet back in the air. Moving down to what we are now calling the gross complex which is West Kelowna and Lake Country very successful operational day on these fires yesterday as you have likely seen we were able to recommend making some orders back into alerts. We've also had a lot of success with our ground operations pushing heavy equipment around these fires and trying to get into and ensure we can contain them so that no matter what the weather brings in the coming days we have the ability to operate off of our containment lines and try to keep these fires in their box and not see any more impacts to communities and infrastructure. On this fire in particular as well as in the Adams complex it would be a miss if I didn't thank municipal fire departments local governments first nation governments for really stepping up and partnering with BC wildfire service we cannot do this alone. We need that partnership we really all have to show up to try to get people home and do it in a safe way. The bender complex which I spoke about in the Fraser Canyon where we are still seeing quite significant fire behaviour on the left is the Downton fire. That fire has seen a bit more growth and has some challenging SPS in Gold Bridge, Gun Lake as well as now starting to see the additional resources for the communities up and down the Fraser Canyon just to be safe with fires to the north being the bender complex and fires to the south being Kukipi Creek. Quickly just touch on the Crater Creek fire down by Lower Samilkemeen Indian Band and Carameas. Some good news on this fire as well while the fire did push into the United States we have a strong partnership with the United States we are working together on that end of the fire as well as where the fire is situated currently above Carameas and LSIB we had a fire there three I believe three years ago quite a substantial fire and so the main body of the Crater Creek fire is not able to continue to burn towards the highway three so some successful tactics going on on this fire and continue to see a little bit of growth but nothing significant. Upper Park Real Creek fire just outside of sorry going back so this fire is roughly 1100 hectares we did see a little bit of growth in the last 48 hours nothing substantial and we are having good success on the ground on this fire with heavy equipment ground resources and yesterday we were able to fly aviation assets on it so roughly 1100 hectares we're feeling fairly confident with our operation on this fire and again thanks to the strong partnerships that we have in the area. Kukipi Creek fire in the Fraser Canyon obviously this fire it was last Friday that it made a significant push across the river and across Highway 1 we are still seeing the challenges of the valley orientation coming out of the Nehat Latch which runs east to west into the Fraser Canyon that runs north to south and so you can see this fire has made some push to the north towards Kanaka Bar we haven't seen a lot of growth to the south and we have seen some growth over to the east we do have some operable ground although it's very steep in this valley we do have some operable ground to the north and to the south a little bit more challenging as it gets into the steep draw canyons across Highway 1 but we are we are making a plan and working with the local communities to ensure that that plan works for everyone in that valley. Just quickly touch on resourcing as discussed we have roughly 3500 people engaged in fire response across the province today we do have 100 Mexican firefighters arriving on Tuesday 200 South Africans at the end of the week and additional single resources continue to see a large rotary wing aviation fleet with 128 helicopters 35 air tankers and we are starting to see record breaking numbers in terms of BC wildfire service in the field. We are also working with the federal government to provide infrastructure protection resources with 288 out in the field again thanking municipal fire departments for their support of this effort in a very challenging fire season and we have flown just about 800 air tanker missions in 2023 in 2021 which was also a very challenging fire year for the entire season we flew 800 so we are likely to break that record here today as long as the smoke lifts and we are able to fly so that's what we are looking for today I want to thank you very much and Premier Eby allow you to take questions. Great thanks. Allow you to take questions. Great thanks Cliff. Thank you for joining us today we are going to begin with some questions in the room and then going to questions on the phone line for those on the phone line please press star one to enter the queue all members of the media will be limited to one question and one follow up. We will begin with Ben Lejeu from CTV news go ahead Ben. Thank you my question is in regards to the travel ban of two part of here there is some confusion about short-term rentals such as Airbnb do they fall under this travel ban as well? And then also bigger picture this is prime tourist season four the Okanagan tourism operators tell us they are doing their part but they are already looking ahead and wondering if there will be financial compensation for the losses that they may incur whether that be hotels or tour operators. Thank you. My question is in regards to the travel ban of two part of here there is some confusion about short term rentals such as Airbnb do they fall under this travel ban as well and then also bigger picture this is prime tourist season four we are looking for a travel ban in terms of forexamples. OK thanks so for the question so for Airbnb and people who host on Airbnb we are really asking them to take the same approach that we are asking commercial hotels to take which is to have understanding about the fact that we are asking people not to travel to the area not to be tourists in disaster areas and the province and to be flexible around refunds we are calling the company the We're calling the company to be supportive of that. And certainly people who are hosting to be supportive of that, that's our expectation. The formal definition of temporary accommodation in the order does not include Airbnb's. But I think it would be a bit of a stretch to think that you should be traveling to these areas if you have an Airbnb book. The answer is do not travel, do not go to those areas. And for those companies and those individuals who are involved with Airbnb, we ask them to be flexible and understanding and support people. In terms of support for the tourism sector, absolutely we'll be supporting the tourism sector or they're facing significant impacts. One of the immediate realities though is that the hotel rooms that are coming available is when they become available, they're being snapped up by the province so that we can provide accommodation for firefighters and for people who've been evacuated from their homes. And so the business is shifting from tourists to accommodating frontline responders and families and individuals who are in emergency response centers right now. And so very grateful to the hotel association for working with us, hotel owners working with us to be able to ensure that there's a tight link between that accommodation becoming available and moving someone in right away so we can get them out of a gymnasium or a community center or whatever and into at least a hotel room. Okay, thanks. Thank you for your question. I do, in recent years many British Columbians have come to rely on social media networks to get news articles, to share news articles. Obviously Facebook, Instagram are no longer allowing Canadian news content to be shared on their platforms. Is the BC government finding it difficult to get its message out to people? Do you have concerns with the ban on Canadian news content on these platforms during this time of immense disaster? Well, this is a time in British Columbia where people are pulling together whether they own a company or whether they are opening their home up to friends, relatives or sometimes even strangers to support neighbors with livestock, to support people who have pets and everybody pulling together. I heard a story this morning from an MLA about a guy who owns a fuel company who saw that a pump needed fuel and he didn't have the authorization yet to put the fuel to keep that pump going to cover the cost of that fuel. He went ahead and fueled it up so that we could work it out later. That is the approach of companies that we're seeing in British Columbia. I find it astonishing that we are at this stage of the crisis and the owners of Facebook and Instagram have not come forward and said, look, we're trying to make a point with the federal government, but it's more important that people are safe. It's more important that they have access to basic information through our networks and then we can deal with our concerns with the federal government and their new laws later. I call on Facebook again. Mr. Zuckerberg, open up access to Canadian media so that British Columbians can share critical local information so they can be safe. It's incredibly frustrating to me that we have to be making this call at this stage in the crisis, but I hope that common sense prevails there, but currently it seems to be in short supply. Our next question will go to the phone lines with Richard Zizfan from Global News. Go ahead, Richard. I'm not sure who this is for, maybe for Cliff. Residents are trying to get supplies in the communities trapped near Angolot by boats. They've apparently been blocked from doing so. What can you say to people to reassure them that the supplies and services are getting to the communities that need them? And Cliff, to the issue you were speaking to earlier about that controlled burn, how confident are you that no additional homes were lost due to the decision made around that burn? Okay, thanks, Richard. I'll turn that over to Cliff to take the second question first and then members of the public services. Someone can ask a specific question about Angolot. Thank you very much, Richard. It is a really good question. And I guess I would say I am very confident that that planned ignition went ahead under the right planning context to remove fuel between the main body of the fire and the communities in the North Shishwap. I am confident it was not our planned ignition that made that fire move into the North Shishwap. The winds were 40 kilometers an hour sustained. We saw that fire make a 22 kilometer run around our planned ignition. I am confident that that planned ignition removed fuel and saved homes. Ian Cunning's from EMCR will be taking the next question. Go ahead, Ian. Great, thank you. Premier, my name is Ian Cunning's. I'm the senior director for response operations for emergency management climate readiness. In terms of resupply, EMCR Regional Operations Center out of Kamloops is working closely with local government DOC's. And if there were a need for assistance without local government DOC, we would then provide that support. So we would just encourage and concern residents to get in touch with their local government for that support. Thank you, Premier. Thanks, Ian. Premier. Thanks, Ian. Put your David Paul question. Premier, I know we're in the very early stages here of what comes next for the people of Kelowna and West Kelowna in the entire region. But is there a guarantee from you that this will not take the same amount of time that the people of Lytton have experienced that they are still waiting to get back into their homes? What sort of commitment will there be to be rebuilding here in this community? Well, we'll be working incredibly closely with local authorities. We're already working closely with the federal government to ensure that those families, starting with the news we got today of the 50 structures that we lost in West Kelowna, most of which are likely homes, making sure that people are supported. The bad news is going to continue to come in. Family homes destroyed across the province due to fire. As you heard from Cliff, as you heard from Minister Ma, this is still a very serious and volatile situation. We are not out of the woods yet. And the government at all levels, local government, provincial government and federal government will be working together to ensure that people are looked after and supported. Our next question is going to come from Rob Shaw from Czech News. Go ahead, Rob. Hi there. I know this is a bit of a delicate question, but are we sure that everyone is okay? Is anyone missing? Are we worried that anyone has been killed in any of these fires or can't be accounted for? Or how do we know that? This is, Rob, implicit in your questions that this is an incredibly dangerous situation. When Minister Ma says, you get an order to evacuate, please evacuate. Certainly, do not go into an area that's under an evacuation order. That is the highest level of risk for your own life, for the lives of first responders that are going to try to fight that fire. Because all of a sudden they're going in to try to get somebody out that shouldn't be in the area in the first place. That is where the danger to life and safety is the absolute highest. With that, I'm going to turn it over to Cliff to provide any information. You can't from the front lines about any reports of missing people or anything like that. Cliff, thank you, Premier. And you're right, it is implicit. It was a very scary situation that occurred last Thursday and last Friday with that type of wind sustained through the night into the darkness, evacuation orders going in, obviously. At this point in time, we have not been made aware of any impacts to humans, but that doesn't mean that we may not in the coming days. Obviously, we continue to focus on trying to protect the structures that are standing, focused in on the response to those fires. And Ian, I'm not sure if there's anything to add from EMCR, but there is nothing that's come across BC Wildfire Services organization in terms of your question. That's correct, Cliff. We have a statement for nothing to add. No reports of missing persons into EMCR. Thanks, Premier. Sim, then Rob, David Fox. Sim, then Rob, David Fox, question. Sure, thanks. I guess back on this, you've talked about thanking the communities that have sent municipal fire crews. And I'm just wondering if you could expand a bit on, you mentioned structural protection. What can you do with these crews that you couldn't do without them in terms of firefighting? What does it mean to have them there? And how useful is it in terms of actually protecting homes? Thanks, Cliff. I think this is one for you. Really, there is a distinct difference between municipal fire departments and what BC Wildfire Services, both training experience and really mandates are to accomplish within BC. And that's why it is so imperative for us to work in true partnership and unified command as we are on the McDougal Fire and working closely as we are in the Adams Fire and fires across the province. When we call in municipal fire departments, they support us in our structure protection, which is the deployment of sprinklers, pumps, mass water delivery systems, quite a complex system to try to reduce the relative humidity in and around the community, as well as directly spray water into the fuels so that the fire has less fuel to burn in an ideal situation. The municipal fire departments can also fight the structure fires. So when we see the impacts, like we did in West Kelowna, when we see the impacts, like we did in the Shishwap, municipal departments are trained in structure defense and they are able to actually suppress the homes that might be on fire. I think this is one important piece because Wildfire, the BC Wildfire Service firefighters, while they can support the deployment of sprinklers, they are generally focused on trying to steer the fire away from the community and using our suppression tactics to keep the fire out of communities. And that's why sometimes when you see within West Kelowna or perhaps around the Shishwap, you may not see the BC Wildfire Service Reds and Blues. You might see municipal departments because that is their area of expertise. Our staff are in the forest trying to steer that fire, put in containment lines, use heavy equipment. So it really does have to be a partnership and there is a difference between what the two types of crews can do. Obviously most effective when we work together and that's what we're doing right now. Our next question will come from Joe Ruddle from the Vancouver Sun. Go ahead, Joe. Yes, hi. With these wildfire seasons of getting worse here and everywhere, are there fire prevention strategies and or technologies being used elsewhere in places like Australia that BC is studying and considering adopting here? Thanks for the question. Thanks. So in terms of fire prevention strategies around wildfire, the interface areas between forests where wildfire areas are and homes is a critical prevention mechanism. We put additional resources into expanding the areas where trees are removed and interface areas with communities. It's also had the added benefit of providing wood to mills in British Columbia given the impact that forest fires and pine beetle have had on our forest industry. It's one of the initiatives we put in place to both support the forest industry but also to prevent forest fires from spreading into urban areas. There are also building code provisions that can be taken to reduce the risk of wildfire spreading in urban areas including sprinklers and the materials that are used in the construction of buildings. There was a lot of discussion about that and the discussion about what would be allowed and not in the reconstruction of the city of Lytton for example and the public service that's responsible for the BC building code and the national building code I'm sure will be taking note of these impacts as they did following the fire in Lytton to determine whether or not our building code needs to be amended in certain areas of the province. So do you have a follow-up question? Yes, this one might be for Cliff. Is there still a concern that the remnants of Hurricane Hillary could create strong winds and exacerbate some of these fires? I would say the remnants of that hurricane, it's a bit of a double-edged sword for BC. So on one hand, there is actually a chance of precipitation coming into the southern portion of the province, effective really starting late this afternoon and even better chance tomorrow as the remnants of that, the hurricane really kind of finishes off its run into BC. So that's positive news and we're talking about not enough to end the season unfortunately but probably five to 10 millimeters of rain within the southeast portion of the province and somewhere between one and five mills across the Camelops Fire Center, which is obviously where we have our Adams complex, Bender complex and McDougal Creek fire. So there is good news in terms of precipitation. The other edge of that sort is exactly what you referenced, which is the winds that may be associated with it. So we are anticipating some winds to come with this thermal air mass that's coming through but it will not be the same as what we experienced on Thursday and Friday. Couple of different variables to that. We're not in the middle at the end of a heat wave, which is a positive thing. And the winds are not forecasted to be sustained for as long as they were last week. So we may see gusts up to 30 kilometers an hour but they're really forecast to be generally much more mild than what we saw last week. 10 to 20 kilometers an hour, which is for August firefighting conditions in BC that's relatively typical. So good news on the rain. We'll continue to monitor the wind as that the remnants of that hurricane starts to push into BC. Thank you. And our next question is gonna come from Camille Baines from the Canadian press. Go ahead Camille. Hi there. I don't know if my minister is there right now for a question I have on patients from the North West Territory, but it is us. I think minister Ma can take that and her staff from MEPCRA may be able to assist. Thank you. Okay, thank you. Could you tell me how many patients from the North West Territory are currently in BC and whether more are expected? Yes, so first off I want to emphasize that our hearts are certainly with the people of the Northwest Territories. We are kindred spirits in this challenge together and seeing what's happening here in British Columbia as well as up in the Northwest. So we have safely received over 19 hospital patients and 16 care home residents from Northwest Territories. They've been transferred to Vancouver Coastal Health, Fraser Health and Providence. And we are continuing to support as we can, but also of course very mindful of the emergency that we are facing here in British Columbia as well. Thank you. I have a follow-up question. Are any patients from elsewhere in BC expected to be moved to other regions? Yes, there is actually a significant evacuation of long-term care home patients, seniors from the Kelowna-Shushop areas. Let us follow up with you. We'll connect with our colleagues over Ministry of Health to follow up with you on details on that. Next question is going to come from Lisa Yuzda from City News. Go ahead, Lisa. Just wondering, and I know, as you said earlier at the beginning, it's very early days, but for the rebuilding aspect of it, or I guess just putting people's lives back together after it, for people who don't have insurance coverage, whether they're a tenant or an owner, just have a mortgage, are there supports for them or are there going to be people who are just going to be out of luck? So the loss of a home is absolutely devastating and I want to emphasize how challenging this is for the people who are at risk of losing their homes yet and who have already received confirmation that their homes have been lost. I know that there are a lot of people and families hurting out there right now. In the past, federal disaster financial assistance programs have not covered losses that are insurable. So that's like fire. But right now, local authorities are assessing what is happening on the ground. We are working closely with them to get a real full sense of the extent of the damage. Unfortunately, we are not yet through the wildfire season. There are still several weeks to come. I will say that for those who have lost homes and structures, wildfire home insurance is widely available in every community across the province. I really encourage homeowners to connect with their insurance providers or to reach out to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. I have a phone number here that I can offer. It's 1-844-227-5422. But as we begin to move into recovery, as the Premier said, we will continue to work very closely with local governments, First Nations, regional districts to understand the extent of the damage and how we can best support people through this. And Lisa, do you have a follow-up question? And just when you're talking about people coming to visit or holidays, it's a Soyuz? Like, is that self-adopted and that's okay? Or do you still want people to stay over like Cassell-Garde, mountain area? So in the Southeast, actually, I'm going to get Cliff to maybe comment on where the line he might recommend is here. But I will say a Soyuz is part of our emergency order, restricting travel for the purposes of accommodation. I know that places like a Soyuz, like Vernon, like Penticton, they are not under active threat of major fire, but they are significant host communities for evacuees from those regions that are experiencing threats from fire. So the emergency order absolutely restricts people from traveling into places like a Soyuz, like Vernon, like Penticton to, pardon me, I'll say that again for clarity. Our emergency order restricts all travelers who are traveling for non-essential purpose from going into a Soyuz, Penticton, Vernon, Kelowna, West Kelowna, Oliver, make sure I have that list for the purposes of staying in overnight accommodation. Cliff, did you want to comment on Cassell-Garde area and further east from that? So obviously it's August in BC, August in BC is typically when we have one of our worst two fire months and this year is no exception to that very obviously. However, the conditions in the Southeast have been relatively stable. We do have fires in the Southeast and I encourage everybody who may be visiting and or traveling through the Southeast portion of the province using Revelstoke sort of as that Western boundary and pushing all the way to the Alberta border. Just encourage everybody to download our app, make sure you're paying attention to the weather, know if there's lightning forecast, know if there's wind forecast and know where the fires are. So that if you are recreating or you're traveling through that area, one that we can rely on you to call in potentially new fires given that there might be smoke impacts in that area for the next number of days, but also for your own safety and the safety of your family. So really asking everyone in BC to be prepared as an individual whether that's at home or for travel because it is still August. We are still gonna see temperatures getting into the 30 degree range and maybe slightly higher than that. And there is still potential really across the province to have significant fire behavior. It is not the same as what we experienced last Thursday and Friday and I just wanna stress that. And so yes, you can go to the Southeast. And again, I will say kind of using Revelstoke as the Western boundary to the Alberta border. We do not have the same impacts on the landscape from fire that we do within the Kamloops Fire Center and the restricted areas. And just for clarity, I'll give that list. And just for clarity, I'll give that list again of the cities that are specifically named in the order. So again, we've got two pieces of communication here. One is a travel communication. Don't go into the Okanagan. Don't go into the Shu Shuaf for tourism or for fun. And then by law, travellers will not be able to travel to stay in temporary accommodations in Kelowna, West Kelowna, Kamloops, Oliver, Asuyus, Penticton and Vernon. So hopefully that provides greater clarity there. Thank you. And we have time for one more question. It's gonna come from Graham Wood from Glacier Media in the room. Go ahead, Graham. Hi, Boeng. Can you explain the importance of communications in an event like this and then underscore from that how important social media is in your job? Well, I mean, when we're asking people to be ready to leave on a moment's notice, when we're asking people to immediately leave their homes, that's when communication is absolutely necessary. When we're asking the public to take heed of our instructions and stay away from our infected areas, it is absolutely critical that we get the word out. And I do want to thank the media for assisting us in this. There's been a lot of uptake of the messages and the information that we and local governments are putting out there. Extremely grateful for your support on that. And we do use a variety of different kinds of communications. So of course we have broadcast intrusive alerts that push immediate information into people's phones through radio waves and on cable TV. Individual communities also have web-based apps that will provide alerts that are separate from the central BI broadcast intrusive alerting system. We of course do use social media. We use websites. We also, in worst case scenario, when we are doing tactical evacuations, we will send people door to door. I think that it's important from an information perspective to meet people where they're at. And a lot of people are at online, on social media. And so it is an important tool. At the same time, it is not the only tool that we rely on. I have a tip and follow up question. Yeah, I do. It's a game for Bowen or David, Premier. Have you guys increased your advertising on social media during this time? I know that you have a bang on advertising, but you've kept it open for times of crisis. So have you guys increased your advertisement, say, on Meta or Facebook? Thanks, Graham. Just to your first question, media events like this, our staff and our team provide high-level, provincial-level information about what's happening across British Columbia. Staff try to drill down into local areas. We are reliant on local media to help translate that into the local context for people across the province. And then for that information to be shared, the predominant way that people share that information from their local newspaper, from their local radio station, is through social media, through Facebook, through Instagram. Providing that critical link between the high-level information the government provides, translating it for the local needs, making it as relevant as possible, and having it passed around through social media. That's why it is so important for Facebook to reconsider the ban that they have in place, that they're trying to make a political point with the federal government about. This is not a time for making that political point this is a time for Facebook and Instagram to use the network that they build, frankly, on the backs of local media to communicate with British Columbians about what they need to hear, what information they need about what's happening in their local communities. That's why I find it so unacceptable that the ban is still in place. It feels a bit like they're holding British Columbians for ransom to make a point with Ottawa. And I just can't express how unacceptable that is when we see local companies bending over backwards to support local residents. I again urge them to reconsider that ban. And just as a provincial government, we have a principled exception on our ban on advertising on their platforms. When it is matter of life and death, when it is critical information that has to get out to British Columbians, we are still paying Facebook to carry advertising for us because we understand it's more important that people get the information that we make a point about their current approach to federal government laws. And so I don't know if there's anybody from EMCR that's able to provide some insight into how we're using these platforms specifically in terms of advertising for Graham's question, but I did want to make those larger points. Maybe Ian. Premier, EMCR continues to use social media platforms through things like prepared BC and others to get emergency information out there, not advertising specific, but making sure that we get the curtain and information out. Thank you, Premier. Thank you, Premier. Thanks very much, everybody.