Aug 20 (Reuters) – Canada will send armed forces to tackle fast-spreading bushfires in British Columbia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday, as the western province grapples with dry conditions and winds that have put more than 35,000 people under evacuation. order.
The province imposed an emergency on Friday night, giving officials more power to deal with fire risks. for saturday, more than 35,000 inhabitants they were under evacuation order and another 30,000 were under evacuation alert.
The McDougall Creek fire is centered in Kelowna, a city about 180 miles (300 kilometers) east of Vancouver with a population of about 150,000. But other fires, exacerbated by severe drought, have been reported closer to the US border and in the US Pacific Northwest.
Government ministers and officials urged residents living in evacuation order zones to take immediate action in the interest of their own lives and those of the firefighters.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also imposed a non-essential travel ban on Saturday to free up accommodation for evacuees and firefighters. Authorities urged people to avoid traveling to fire zones and operate drones to take pictures, which they said would make it difficult for firefighters to do their job.
The authorities have not yet given any estimate of the total number of buildings destroyed.
Trudeau in a tweet said the federal government has agreed to send assistance following a request from the BC government.
Wildfires are not uncommon in Canada, but the spread of flames and outages underscore the severity of its worst wildfire season yet.
The fires have depleted local resources and attracted assistance from the federal government, as well as support from 13 countries. At least four firefighters have died in the line of duty.
A view shows wildfires in Squilax, British Columbia, Canada, August 18, 2023, in this screenshot obtained from a social media video X@AlpineLifer/via REUTERS Purchase license rights
About 140,000 square kilometers (54,054 square miles) of land, roughly the size of New York state, has already burned across the country, with a smoky haze stretching as far as the US East Coast. Officials Government officials project that the fire season could extend into the fall due to widespread drought-like conditions.
SKIES ON FIRE
Some 2,000 kilometers to the north, a wildfire got out of control in Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, prompting the evacuation of nearly all of its 20,000 residents last week.
The fire is currently not expected to reach the city limits by the end of the weekend, officials said, with some rain and cooler temperatures helping slow its advance.
Krista Flesjer, who evacuated the city with her dogs, said it was a difficult journey.
“I was afraid of getting caught in the fires that were coming across the road,” she said.
For Flesjer, the main concern is whether her house, which is only two years old, will survive.
In BC, the TransCanada Highway was closed near Chase, about 400 km northeast of Vancouver, and between Hope, 150 km east of Vancouver, and the town of Lytton. The highway is the main east-west artery used by thousands of motorists and truckers heading to Vancouver, the country’s busiest port.
Kip Lumquist, who works at a gift shop in Craigellachie, a highway tourist spot, said he’s seen a lot of devastation over the past week.
“It was crazy. We couldn’t see the hills, the mountains, the trees, anything, probably (for) two and a half days,” Lumquist said. “I drive a white vehicle, and when I got out to get in my car…it’s just black…It’s devastating to the community.”
Reporting by Denny Thomas; Edited by Kim Coghill and Mark Porter
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