The authorities of Canada's western province of British Columbia have drafted the full resources of its emergency program to battle the rapidly spreadingbird flu, reports reaching here said Saturday.

Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia Province, said he had contacted Prime Minister Paul Martin to ensure full co-operation from all levels of government to wipe out avian flu in British Columbia.

"We are taking this action following discussions with stakeholders and with an understanding that resources should be inplace to deal with any scenario that may arise," Campbell said in a statement.

The provincial government signed an emergency order giving it the power to dump infected bird carcasses in several landfills.

Since February, a highly infectious strain of avian flu has struck 29 commercial poultry farms in the Fraser Valley east of Vancouver, as well as 10 so-called backyard chicken flocks.

The disease, which can kill a flock in days, has jumped from farm to farm despite efforts to contain it in the original five-kilometer-wide "hot zone."

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has begun a massive cull ofthe 19-million poultry flock in the Fraser Valley's 700 commercialfarms in the province.