British Columbia Is on Fire: Why the Provincial Emergency Matters
August 8, 2026
Tonight, British Columbia feels very different.
A provincial state of emergency has now been declared because of the wildfire situation, initially for 14 days. And while those words can sound like another government announcement, for thousands of people across B.C., this isn't abstract anymore.
People are evacuating.
People are waiting.
People are wondering whether their homes will still be standing when they are allowed to return.
And people are trying to get their families, pets, livestock, medications and whatever they can carry to safety.
I've watched this before
I watched the Fort McMurray fire from Vancouver in 2016. I watched Slave Lake. I watched Lytton.
Back then, I used to follow the fires closely on Twitter. What made those disasters so painful wasn't simply watching a map turn red. It was connecting with actual people.
People posting from their homes.
People trying to evacuate.
People saying goodbye to places they had built their lives around.
Once you connect with the people behind the evacuation numbers, a wildfire stops being a statistic.
It becomes someone's home.
Someone's photographs.
Someone's animals.
Someone's memories.
And now I am watching B.C. again.
Only this time, it feels even closer.
I have friends and family all over B.C.—Merritt, Vernon, Nelson and many other places affected by wildfire, evacuation alerts, or thick smoke.
Nelson is already dealing with too much smoke.
So when I see these communities on the map, I don't just see dots and coloured evacuation zones.
I see people I know.
What does a provincial state of emergency actually mean?
The declaration gives the provincial government additional powers to coordinate the emergency response and access resources quickly.
It can allow the government to take extraordinary measures when necessary, including coordinating resources, restricting access to dangerous areas and supporting evacuation and emergency operations.
But it is important to understand what it doesn't mean.
It doesn't mean every community in B.C. is being evacuated.
It doesn't automatically impose a province-wide travel ban.
Specific restrictions and evacuation orders still have to be issued where they are needed.
The 14-day declaration is the initial period. It can be extended if the emergency continues.
In other words, this gives the Province a much bigger toolbox.
And right now, we need that toolbox.
The numbers don't tell the whole story
There is a temptation to ask:
Is this our worst wildfire year ever?
By total hectares burned, no. The 2023 wildfire season remains the record-holder in B.C., with approximately 2.84 million hectares burned.
But that statistic doesn't tell you how frightening tonight is for someone standing in an evacuation centre.
A fire doesn't have to make the record books to destroy a person's life.
Fort McMurray evacuated approximately 88,000 people in 2016.
Today, more than 20,000 people have been evacuated in connection with the current B.C. wildfire emergency.
That is already an enormous number of people.
And every one of them is a person, not a number.
Summerland
Tonight, Summerland is one of the communities I can't stop thinking about.
People are being evacuated while fires move rapidly through dry landscapes.
Some people are trying to get out.
Some are waiting for information.
Some are worried about loved ones who stayed behind to help animals or protect property.
And somewhere, right now, somebody is probably looking at the same orange sky I have seen before and wondering:
Is my home still there?
That is the part of wildfire reporting that stays with me.
Merritt. Vernon. Nelson. And everywhere in between.
These aren't just places on a map to me.
I have friends and family in communities across B.C., and I know I'm not the only person watching tonight with a list of names in my head.
The fire itself is frightening.
The smoke is frightening.
The uncertainty is frightening.
And sometimes the hardest part is simply waiting for that next message:
“We're okay.”
Please listen to the evacuation orders
This is not the time to gamble.
If an area is under an evacuation order, leave.
If you are on evacuation alert, prepare now.
Know where your documents are.
Charge your phones.
Have medications ready.
Make arrangements for animals.
Keep your vehicle fueled if you can.
And check official emergency information rather than relying on a social-media post that may already be out of date.
Because wildfire information can change incredibly quickly.
And please remember the people behind the numbers
Tonight, there will be plenty of statistics.
Hectares burned.
Number of fires.
Number of evacuation orders.
Number of firefighters.
Number of structures damaged or destroyed.
Those numbers matter.
But behind every number is somebody.
A family.
A home.
An animal.
A community.
A lifetime of memories.
I have watched these fires from Vancouver before.
I've watched Fort McMurray.
I've watched Slave Lake.
I've watched Lytton.
I've watched strangers become familiar faces because they were posting their experiences in real time.
And I never forget that those people weren't characters in a disaster story.
They were living it.
Tonight, thousands of British Columbians are living it again.
So to everyone who is evacuated, waiting, fighting the fires, caring for animals, helping neighbours, working in emergency centres, driving evacuation routes, or simply sitting at home wondering what tomorrow will bring:
I see you.
Please stay safe.
And to Merritt, Vernon, Nelson, Summerland and every other community facing this fire season—
🤞❤️
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