Prince George, B.C. – Minister of Forests, Doug Donaldson has taken an aerial tour  of the Elephant Hill fire and offers  praise to those who are working hard to extinguish the flames throughout the  Kamloops and Cariboo Fire Centres.

The  Elephant Hill  fire,  is estimated to be 117,170 hectares in size and  is 30% contained.  The fire was human caused and  RCMP continue their investigation into  this fire.

“I am so impressed with the resilience of the people who are facing these wildfires”  says Minister Donaldson”

Donaldson  has pledged that his government will continue to support the fire suppression efforts and the eventual recovery “We are doing all we can  to get these fires out and get to that recovery and rebuild.”

Donaldson  has noted the possible closure of the back country throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre,  and that a  final decision will be made tomorrow morning “This ( restricting access order)  is just another tool in the toolbox that can be utilized  if the situation warrants it.”

Over the long weekend 19  people were fined for  having illegal campfires, “The warnings need to be really headed” says Donaldson “The campfire bans, the off road  restrictions and now the  possible full back country ban are very important.”

Donaldson  has met with representatives from the BC Cattlemen’s Association “a lot of it was around communication” says Donaldson  who says  many of the concerns have already been  addressed “A lot of it ( the discussions)  were about adjusting on the fly.”  He says he will be working  with the Ministry of Agriculture   to further  support cattle ranchers  when it comes to re-seeding and finding  feed for livestock.

Donaldson says there is  a full investigation  underway  into a back burn operation in Clinton which  resulted in losses for a couple of ranchers.  while the Wildfire Act  allows for compensation  in such an incident,  Donaldson says that specific incident remains under investigation  so he cannot provide  details on  when  compensation might be made available.