Prince George, B.C. – At this evening’s town hall meeting for the  evacuees in Prince George,   the Vice Chair of the Cariboo Regional District  delivered some bad  news.

John Massier says  while   property assessments are still being conducted, he could confirm that  so far, 41 homes have been lost.

The CRD is  contacting  those property owners to  advise  them of the  situation before they make any specifics  are released to the public.

MP Todd Doherty  arrived at the meeting  having just returned from  a visit to Williams Lake   which he says is a ghost town “It was  so spooky,  there  was no one on  the roads”   he said  while there are  numerous checkpoints,   the bottom line is that the area is not  yet safe “You can’t breathe,  the smoke is  that thick.”  Doherty says  evacuees should not expect to  return to their homes anytime  soon, but added  there are plans being developed  for the day when  evacuees  will be told they can go home “They are making  plans to get  you back safely”.

Prince George Mayor Lyn Hall  advised the number of evacuees  who have registered in Prince George  has now topped 9 thousand “So we are still in the middle of this.”

Prince George Valemount MLA Shirley Bond  told the evacuees “We are taking it one day at a time, and trusting those experts who will know when it’s safe to go home.”