Travel restrictions for Okanagan area due to wildfires: province

Travel to the Okanagan area of B.C. is being restricted for anyone planning on staying in temporary accommodations.

Affected areas include Kelowna, Kamloops, Osoyoos, Oliver, Penticton and Vernon. Bowinn Ma, minister of emergency management and climate readiness, says temporary accommodations in these areas are no longer available for non-essential visits and is asking anyone attempting to travel to the area for non-essential reasons to change their plans.

“This will ensure that accommodations like hotels and motels are available for evacuees and frontline responders in the Okanagan,” Ma says.

Anyone currently in temporary accommodations in these areas are being asked to voluntarily checkout and free up those spaces for evacuees and responders. Premier Eby defined temporary accommodations as hotels, inns, motels, provincial parks, RV parks, bed and breakfasts and public campgrounds.

There are currently about 35,000 people on evacuation order in the province, Premier David Eby said in an announcement Saturday. Another 30,000 people are on advisory and could be asked to leave within a matter of hours.

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Related Articles:

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• Wildfire smoke triggers air quality statements for much of southern B.C.

• More evacuation alerts issued for south shore of Shuswap Lake

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B.C. Hotel Association helping house people in need

Housing support for evacuees, firefighters and first responders is being offered by the BC Hotel Association, as the wildfire situation in B.C. worsens.

Ingrid Jarrett, CEO of the BC Hotel Association, says its efforts began by housing evacuees from Yellowknife, but she’s now working with Emergency Management BC to ensure people coming from the Okanagan area have a place to stay as well.

So far, Jarrett says she’s impressed by the response of travelers and hotel operators across the region during this provincial emergency.

“It’s incredible how much people have stepped up to ensure there is safe shelter at a time of an incredibly dire circumstance,” she told CityNews.

Jarrett says hotels throughout the region are currently connected to placement agents within Emergency Management BC, to help ensure people in need of a place to stay can find one.