Interior district pleads for help as wildfires blaze out of control

KAMLOOPS (NEWS 1130) — With many wildfires threatening homes in the Kamloops area, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District is pleading for more boots on the ground and places for evacuees to sleep.

Regional district board chair Ken Gillis says he’s been signing evacuation orders late into the night.

"It's a critical situation… We have nowhere to put people. It's just becoming increasingly frightening." @TNRD Board Chair Ken Gillis pleads for more resources as #BCWildfires threaten homes in the #Kamloops area –and no #BC state of emergency declared yet. #bcpoli @NEWS1130

— Marcella Bernardo (@MBernardoNews) July 19, 2021

“It’s a critical situation in terms of accommodation. We have nowhere to put people. It’s just becoming increasingly frightening.”

Gillis says just had to tell an elderly woman she may have to seek shelter as far away as Chilliwack if she’s forced to leave her home in Westwold, east of Kamloops.

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“She said, ‘What am I going to do? I’ve lived here all my life. I don’t want to leave. Why haven’t they declared a state of emergency?’ It was beyond frustrating that I couldn’t give her comfort –other than to say, ‘We’re hopeful that it won’t become an order, but if it does, we’ll have to ask you to leave.'”

He also says he just told an elderly #Westwold woman she may have to seek shelter as far away as #Chilliwack if she's forced to leave her home.

"She said, 'What am I going to do? I've lived here all my life… Why haven't they declared a state of emergency?'"#bcpoli @NEWS1130

— Marcella Bernardo (@MBernardoNews) July 19, 2021

He says a request has gone out to the province for an extra 150 firefighters. As of Monday, the Kamloops Fire Centre is currently battling 115 fires.

“We’re trying to make sure that they get a spell off, they get time off. It’s not unusual for them to go home at nine o’clock at night and then suddenly be called back because there’s another flare up.”

Gillis adds the RCMP has committed to send extra personnel for security purposes.

NEWS 1130 has reached out to the province’s Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth for clarification on the request. Farnworth’s office says he will be available at a provincial briefing on the current wildfire situation at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday.