Fuel at the pumps will continue to be limited as parts of the province continue to recover from flooding.
Non-essential vehicles will continue to be limited to 30 litres of fuel per trip to a gas station until Dec. 14, according to an announcement from the provincial government Monday.
They say the fuel order will still apply on Vancouver Island along with the Lower Mainland to Hope, Sea-to-Sky, Sunshine Coast and Gulf Islands.
Minister of Public Safety and solicitor general Mike Farnworth said the extension will be necessary as another storm is on its way.
“People in our province have been affected by the devastating floods and while we’re making major progress in our recovery, we’re still in a volatile situation,” said Farnworth. “The fuel conservation measures are working but with another storm on its way, we are extending the order to ensure that we prioritize emergency services for another two weeks.”
Essential vehicles will still have unrestricted access to fuel as they need at commercial fuel stations, according to the province.
Along with the gas restrictions, current orders for non-essential travel on some B.C. highways are in place including:
- Highway 3: from the junction of Highway 5 and Highway 3 in Hope to the west entrance to Princeton from Highway 3
- The junction of Highway 7 and Highway 9 in Agassiz to the junction of Highway 7 and Highway 1 in Hope
- From the junction of Highway 99 and Lillooet River Rd to the BC Hydro Seton Lake campsite access in Lillooet
Over 3,000 properties are on evacuation orders and more than 7,000 properties are on evacuation alert since the initial storm on Nov. 14-16.
The province has partnered with the Canadian Red Cross to provide $2,000 to people whose residences have been put on evacuation orders.
