B.C. ends wildfire state of emergency after 20 days

British Columbia has ended a provincial state of emergency that was imposed on Aug. 8 in response to wildfires that sent thousands of people fleeing and resulted in one death.

The state of emergency had previously been scheduled to end on Saturday but the government says it lifted the declaration early on the advice of emergency officials.

A statement by the Emergency Management Ministry says the declaration was imposed to make emergency powers and other tools available quickly but they fortunately were not needed.

Cancellation of the declaration has no effect on evacuation orders and alerts that remain in place across B.C.

The state of provincial emergency was declared hours after the Bald Range wildfire forced residents west of Okanagan Lake to flee, with more than 20,000 people evacuated from their homes.

There are about 200 active wildfires burning across B.C., after lightning moved through the central Interior this week and triggered new fire starts.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2026.