John Horgan makes addressing wildfires the first order of business for his new Cabinet
BC's new Premier hasn't wasted any time addressing the wildfire situation in the interior. John Horgan says it was the first order of business at this morning's Cabinet meeting as members were briefed by emergency personnel.
Horgan says more needs to be done to give comfort to people in affected communities.
"So starting today we're taking the following steps. We'll be extending the state of emergency for an additional 2 weeks. The current state of emergency expires at midnight on the 21st of July. And we're going to regrettably, because of the situation, going to have to extend that an additional 2 weeks."
Horgan says assistance funds are also being increased:
"Earlier this month government created a $100-million fund. Within that fund households were allotted $600 to meet basic needs provided through the Red Cross. We're going to increase that one time payment to a second time payment for every 14 days that people are evacuated from their homes."
Horgan says the fires are unprecedented, and traditionally when an emergency is declared, people are usually back quickly. But he notes that some people are still out of their homes from the spring floods, and they will also be compensated with the funding.