British Columbia Premier John Horgan says successive governments have budgeted "laughable" amounts of money to fight wildfires that are becoming all too common.
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Horgan was flanked by the federal defence minister, the mayor of Prince George and a First Nations chief in Prince George as he said the sky in the northern city had turned jet black earlier in the day from fires burning in nearby communities.
The premier says wildfires have prompted an unprecedented second state of emergency in the province in the last 12 months, after floods this spring, but he's confident there's enough contingency in the budget to provide the needed support.
Horgan travelled to the central Interior to meet with first responders who are fighting some of the more than 500 wildfires burning across the province.
More than 2,000 evacuees are in Prince George after being ordered out because of an 850-square-kilometre blaze threatening an area from Fraser Lake to Fort St. James.
Horgan is also expected to travel to Burns Lake, where three out-of-control fires have prompted evacuation orders and alerts to the east, south and southwest of that village.
