‘Grim situation’ in Canada’s British Columbia as wildfires intensify

Authorities in western Canada have implored tens of thousands of people to heed evacuation orders and warned of difficult days ahead as “severe and fast-changing” forest fires in the province of British Columbia (BC) intensified further.

Authorities in western Canada have implored tens of thousands of people to heed evacuation orders and warned of difficult days ahead as “severe and fast-changing” forest fires in the province of British Columbia (BC) intensified further.

Premier Daniel Eby told reporters on Saturday that the number of people under an evacuation order in the province has doubled to 35,000 from a day earlier and that a further 30,000 were under an evacuation alert.

“The current situation is grim,” Eby said.

BC declared a state of emergency on Friday, with an out-of-control fire in the province’s southern region growing more than one hundredfold in 24 hours.

The fire – centred around Kelowna, a city of 150,000 people and located some 300 kilometres (180 miles) east of Vancouver – has partially shut down some sections of a key transit route between the Pacific coast and the rest of western Canada, and has destroyed many properties.

The situation in the popular boating and hiking destination was “highly dynamic”, said Bowinn Ma, BC’s minister of emergency management.