With coast and southwestern British Columbia facing heavy rainfall while recovering from severe flooding, province extends temporary measure to prioritize fuel for essential vehicles and state of emergency provincial.
The province is extending a temporary measure to limit non-essential vehicles to 30 liters of fuel (gasoline and diesel) per trip to a gas station until December 14, 2021.
In view of the continuing threats of flooding and the continued need for public safety measures under the Emergency Programs Act, the provincial state of emergency is extended until the end of the day on December 14, 2021 .
“The people of our province have been affected by the devastating flooding and although we are making significant progress in our recovery, we are still in a volatile situation,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. “I want to thank British Columbians for doing their part to keep essential vehicles running. The fuel economy measures are working, but with another storm on the way, we’re extending the order to ensure we prioritize emergency services for another two weeks. “
Since the initial Atmospheric River on November 14-16, a series of storms have exacerbated existing flooding and created new flooding and landslides in southwestern British Columbia. There are currently 3,606 properties on evacuation order and 7,402 properties on evacuation alert.
The fuel order applies to all fuel suppliers in the Lower Mainland to Hope area, Sea-to-Sky area, Sunshine Coast, Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island. Essential vehicles will continue to have unrestricted access to fuel as needed, using primarily commercial trucking service stations (Cardlock gas stations).
“I would like to thank the fuel suppliers, retailers and service station attendants who have worked hard over the past few weeks to ensure that the fuel supply to the Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast and the Isle of Vancouver and the Gulf Islands remains stable and secure, ”said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. “We are confident that by extending the order, we will be able to maintain a secure supply of fuel over the next few days as infrastructure repairs continue on the Trans Mountain pipeline. “
All current orders related to non-essential travel on Highways 3, 7 and 99 remain in effect until the highways begin to reopen. This includes:
- Highway 3: from the junction of Highway 5 and Highway 3 at Hope to the west entrance of Princeton from Highway 3;
- from the junction of Route 7 and Route 9 at Agassiz to the junction of Route 7 and Route 1 at Hope; and
- from the junction of Highway 99 and Lillooet River Road to the access to the BC Hydro Seton Lake Campground in Lillooet (vehicle weight must not exceed 14,500 kilograms).
“The expansion of the provincial declaration and fuel limits will help us meet the challenges ahead as we continue to repair our heavily damaged highways and put our railways and roads back into service,” said Minister Rob Fleming. of Transport and Infrastructure. “Having goods move along BC’s corridors is essential to getting goods and services to those in need.
The province has partnered with the Canadian Red Cross to provide $ 2,000 to people whose primary residences have been ordered to be evacuated due to flooding, to meet immediate needs associated with the evacuation due to flooding.
Disaster financial assistance is also available for people living in areas affected by floods and landslides from November 14-16, 2021. This assistance is open to homeowners, residential tenants, businesses, charities , local governments, indigenous communities and farmers.
A state of emergency gives organizations such as the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, Emergency Management BC, the RCMP and others the ability to use extraordinary measures to protect individuals and communities.
Learn more:
For a list of essential vehicles, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/natural-disaster/support/restrictions.
For more information on evacuation orders and alerts, visit Emergency Info BC: https://www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca/
For updated road conditions: www.drivebc.ca
For up-to-date public weather alerts, visit Environment and Climate Change Canada’s website: https://weather.gc.ca/warnings/index_e.html?prov=bc
To register with the Canadian Red Cross, visit: https://www.redcross.ca/how-we-help/current-emergency-responses/2021-british-columbia-floods-and-extreme-weather
British Columbians can access the DFA application online: http://www.gov.bc.ca/disasterfinancialassistance
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