Canada declares state of Emergency in British Columbia as wildfires spread
10 July 2017 5:26 PM GMT
The Canadian state of British Columbia has advised around 3,000 people to evacuate and declared a state of Emergency as wildfires sweep through the province.
More than 138 new wildfires broke out on Saturday alone, raising the total to about 240, according to local media reports.
More than 1,800 firefighters were tackling the fires and a further 260 were coming to their aid from other parts of Canada. Saskatchewan was sending three air tankers and 30 firefighters.
"Given the current wildfire situation and the expected increase in wildfire activity, the province is taking this extraordinary measure of declaring a provincial state of emergency," Todd Stone, British Columbia's transportation and emergency management chief, said in a statement.
John Ranta, the mayor of Cache Creek, one of the areas where local residents were ordered to evacuate, said at least five properties had been destroyed by fire as well as 30 trailer park homes and two hangars at an airport.
One firefighter said: "I've been in this business for 17 years... and I haven't experienced a day like we experienced yesterday."
Weather conditions are further fuelling the conflagration. The Weather Network said that a ridge of high pressure was keeping up temperatures, pushing hot, dry desert air through the Prairies. Lighting storms also lit up the skies in many parts of the province.
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