Prince George, B.C. – As of late yesterday, there were  nearly 7,000 evacuees in  Prince George,   and  the  residents and businesses in the city have  stepped up to  help in a number of ways.

In addition to the hundreds who have   registered with Volunteer PG  to help  out,   local businesses  and organizations  have been  offering assistance as well, from free admission   and  use of  facilities to  free pet food    and storage of recreational vehicles .

And   cash  donations continue to pour in to  the  Red Cross.    As of  Friday,  $2.8 million dollars had been  donated to the  B.C.  Wildfire Relief fund  set up by the Red Cross.

Assistant Deputy Minister of Emergency Management  B.C. , Robert Turner says  “The  Provincial Government  recognizes the overwhelming generosity of  the residents  of British Columbia  and the various organizations who are pulling together to help those affected by the wildfires burning  in various areas throughout the province and anyone   wanting to assist has a variety of  ways to do  so.”

There have been plenty of  folks  wanting to donate  household items,  clothing,   and food,  but  Turner says  now is not the time “Municipalities  and  evacuation  centres may not be able to accept or  manage material donations from members of the public or businesses.  It’s a very  labour intensive process to sort and distribute in-kind  contributions.”  He says the Province is developing a plan to manage  the assistance that has been offered and organize donations.  He says information on that  will be coming  forward in  the near  future.

Turner says the best thing people can  do now,  is to make a donation to the Red Cross .  A list of links   to organizations providing assistance is available by clicking here.