WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a visit to the fire zone in British Columbia has helped him better understand the aggressive fire season plaguing the province.
Trudeau was in the Interior city of Williams Lake today, where he took an helicopter tour of some of the damage caused by the flames.
He says he saw scorched earth surrounding ranches and evidence of a fire stopping just short of a runway, indicating how fast and aggressive the flames have been.
More than 800 fires have charred about 42-hundred square kilometres across the province since April 1st and six-thousand people are currently displaced by the flames.
Trudeau says Ottawa will work with other levels of government to make sure residents and local economies are supported not only through fire season, but as they rebuild.
Fire officials say a heat wave forecast for much of the province this week could increase fire activity, and much of B-C has been socked-in by smoke from the fires, prompting a new air quality advisory for Metro Vancouver starting Tuesday.