Alert Ready system in place for B.C. wildfires but not heat domes in early June

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says an automated alert system will be ready to warn British Columbia residents of spring flooding and summer wildfires but not yet for extreme heat.

Alert Ready is a Canada-wide system that allows government officials to issue public safety alerts through major television and radio broadcasters, as well as compatible wireless devices.

Farnworth says the system is all set for the spring thaw and will be in place by early June for wildfires.

However, he says the Health Ministry is still working to determine parameters for deploying the alerts in the case of hot weather, similar to the so-called heat dome the province experienced last summer.

The B.C. government came under fire for not using the system to warn residents about scorching temperatures, which the BC Coroners Service later said caused nearly 600 heat-related deaths.

At the time, the province said it was only prepared to use Alert Ready for tsunamis and Amber Alerts for abducted children.