Wildfire suppression costs near half-a-billion dollars
KAMLOOPS — The cost of fighting wildfires in B.C. is about to hit another unenviable milestone.
During a teleconference today, Kevin Skrepnek, chief fire information officer with the BC Wildfire Service, said the total tally of fighting the blazes as of Sunday, September 10, has hit $499.4 million.
He also noted the wildfire season is far from over considering there are still 168 fires burning in the province, including nine new starts Sunday.
“There have been 1,236 fires since the start of the season April 1, burning a total of 1,169,126 hectares,” said Skrepnek. “There are just under 3,000 firefighters and personnel working those fires including 261 out-of-province personnel and 1,400 contractors.”