Status: 07/21/2021 8:54 a.m.
There are currently around 300 fires raging in the Canadian province of British Columbia. That is why the authorities have now declared a state of emergency. Emergency services are also fighting numerous fires on the US west coast.
Because of the devastating forest fires in western Canada, the authorities have declared a state of emergency. “We have reached a critical point,” said British Columbia Provincial Public Security Secretary Mike Farnworth. In emergency conditions, the authorities can order mass evacuations and set up protective devices for people who have been brought to safety.
The authorities previously ordered 5,700 other people to leave their homes because of the danger of the forest fires. Tens of thousands more were called upon to prepare for possible similar orders. “Please prepare an evacuation plan for your family”, appealed to the fire department chief Cliff Chapman to the people.
In western Canada and on the US west coast, severe forest fires have been raging for weeks. There are currently around 300 active fires in British Columbia, and more than 3000 firefighters are working against the flames. The authorities expect the situation to worsen in the coming days – according to the weather forecasts, it should remain hot and dry. According to Chapman, around 3,000 square kilometers of land have already been devastated by the fires: an area about three times the size of what is usual at this time of the year.
Clouds of smoke as far as New York
More than 80 major forest fires are currently raging in the USA as well. Worst hit is the state of Oregon, where the emergency services are fighting the huge “bootleg” fire.
The clouds of smoke from the violent forest fires in the northwest of the USA cloud the prospects even on the east coast, which is almost 4,000 kilometers away. In big cities like New York, a hazy veil pushed up against the sun, and authorities warned of bad air in Philadelphia as well. The effects of the seasonal fires in the states of Washington, Oregon or Montana on the west coast were also felt in the federal capital Washington DC, Chicago and parts of Canada.
In extreme weather conditions, the forest fires in the state of Oregon expand even further: the flames of the “bootleg” fire have so far covered an area of almost 1,500 square kilometers. Heat, drought, wind and the threat of lightning strikes made it difficult for the fire fighters to work. The fire department chief Rob Allen described the major fire as a “monster”. Fighting this fire is “a marathon, not a sprint”.
Forest fires in the western United States: particulate matter over New York
Morning magazine, July 21, 2021