Fueled by winds and drought, wildfires continue to spread across Canada. The province of British Columbia has since declared a state of emergency. More than 30,000 people are said to be evacuating the area to safety.
The devastating forest fires in Canada continue to spread. The fire now covers an area of around 10,500 hectares, which has increased almost tenfold within 24 hours. British Columbia Prime Minister David Eby has declared a state of emergency for the entire Pacific Coast province. “The situation is currently unpredictable and we have difficult days ahead,” said Eby. In total, the authorities counted around 370 fires in the region.
Around 30,000 people have now been asked to evacuate the area to safety. Another 36,000 provincial residents are instructed to prepare, provincial disaster preparedness minister Bowinn Ma said. She called on the affected residents to immediately follow the calls for evacuation. “They are a matter of life and death, not just for the people in these homes, but for the first responders who often go back and try to get people to leave.”
A number of houses and apartments in the West Kelowna area on Okanagan Lake, which is popular with tourists, had previously been destroyed by the flames. 36,000 people live in the city. A state of emergency was already in place for the town itself.
The city of Kelowna with almost 150,000 inhabitants on the opposite side of the lake is also affected by the fires. Officials say the fires are expected to continue to spread.
Almost 20,000 people fled
The capital of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, which is more than 2,000 kilometers away, has meanwhile been almost completely evacuated. The nearly 20,000 residents tried to meet the deadline for evacuation by Friday noon (local time). Firefighters struggled to keep the only way out of town open. Emergency services escorted a caravan of vehicles through the fire areas.
Some of the people from Yellowknife drove hundreds of kilometers to get to safety. Others were waiting for special flights to take them out of the fire area. Ten planes carrying 1,500 passengers departed the city on Thursday, said Jennifer Young of the Northwest Territories Department of Municipal Affairs.
Canada with the province of British Columbia and the cities of Yellowknife and Kelowna.
“Like a Pint at the End of the World”
To protect Yellowknife from the blaze, firefighters deployed a network of fire watches, sprinklers, and water cannons. As of late Friday, the city was virtually deserted, with just a grocery store and pharmacy still open, Canadian news agency CP reported — and a bar. Kieron Testart, who went door-to-door to check on people, said it is to drink “like a pint at the end of the world”.
Northwesterly winds combined with little rain hampered efforts to contain the fire, which could reach the city by the weekend, emergency services said. Fire department spokesman Mike Westwick said the fire was 15 kilometers from the city limits.
Triggered by a lightning strike
The blaze, sparked by a lightning strike more than a month earlier, had spread to about 1,670 square kilometers. The fire “isn’t going away anytime soon,” Westwick said. He has already jumped three different containment lines.
“We are heading towards a critical couple of days,” Territory Government Minister Shane Thompson said at a news conference. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with ministers and senior officials. He urged them to ensure that communications services continue to be available.
Canada is experiencing its deadliest wildfire season on record this year. According to figures from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center, 5,700 fires were blazing across more than 137,000 square kilometers nationwide. This roughly corresponds to the entire land area of Greece including all islands. According to scientists, climate change is leading to more frequent and more violent forest fires.