Bella Bella fuel spill prompts B.C. premier to blast federal government
VANCOUVER — As crews scramble to contain and clean up a diesel spill in waters off British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest Premier Christy Clark lashed out Friday at the federal government’s inadequate commitment to disaster response on Canada’s West Coast.
Experts in wildlife recovery and oil removal from environmentally sensitive areas are among those dispatched to Bella Bella where a 30-metre tug pushing an empty fuel barge ran aground and sank Thursday.
Bella Bella is located more than 1,150 kilometres northwest of Vancouver and is accessible only by boat or airplane.
The United States registered Nathan E. Stewart was in Seaforth Channel about 20 kilometres west of Bella Bella when it ran aground.