FILE PHOTO - The McDougall Creek wildfire is seen in this Aug. 17, 2023, photo.

(MARSHALL JONES / iNFOnews.ca)

The end is near for British Columbia's fire season, but the provincial emergency management minister says the "sleeping giant" in the season of natural disasters is drought.

Bowinn Ma's comments came Wednesday as she announced disaster financial assistance is available for local governments and First Nations in 15 regional districts that have been burned by the province's largest fire season on record.

Ma said that mid-September traditionally marks the end of the peak wildfire season and the province is "in the home stretch" but must remain prepared.

Adding to the record season where an estimated 2.2 million hectares of land has been burned, the minister said drought conditions this year are unlike any other the province has ever seen.

“(It), in my opinion, truly is a sleeping giant of a natural disaster that we are challenged with right now," Ma said.

"The impacts will be very, very real, which is why we have been communicating to the public since April the need to voluntarily reduce water use and conserve water.”

Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston said about 80 per cent of the province is under a level 4 or 5 drought, the two highest classifications.

He said the province will need several inches or more of rainfall over an extended period of time to alleviate drought conditions.

Rain would also be welcome for firefighters.

Cliff Chapman with the BC Wildfire Service said the province is hopefully out of the worst of the fire season but there’s still a lot of work to be done and another ridge of high pressure in the next few weeks could mean more fire growth.

“We'll be working extremely hard. We'll be continuing with long shifts and 24-hour coverage to put these fires out. But we are still looking for what we refer to as a season-ending rain event and right now that is not ... forecast,” he said.

Ma said 3,800 people remain under evacuation order and another 34,000 are under alert after thousands were ordered out of their homes across the province last month because of wildfires.

She said over the last few days evacuation alerts covering approximately 30,000 people have been rescinded allowing "families to breathe a sigh of relief as the threat level has reduced."

More than 400 fires are burning across the province with almost half considered out-of-control.

Ma said a damage estimate has not been completed but they know that "hundreds" of structures have been lost across the province.

First Nations and local governments will now be able to apply for disaster relief funding to cover losses from the wildfire season that are not covered by insurance, the minister said.

“This funding can serve several purposes, including helping communities rebuild or repair essential public infrastructure like roads and bridges,” Ma said.

“It can also help local communities replace essential materials and support expenses related to inspections, appraisals, planning and design processes needed to determine recovery costs.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2023.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2023