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The fires raging in western Canada gained further ground Sunday as two flames merged and residents continued to evacuate.
Fast-evolving wildfires threatened much of the scenic Okanagan Valley, including the city of Kelowna, British Columbia.
The situation in the popular boating and hiking destination was “very dynamic,” said Bowinn Ma, the province’s minister of emergency management.
“Do not travel to the fire-affected areas of the province for tourism,” he added on Sunday.
About 30,000 people were under evacuation orders, while another 36,000 were on alert to be ready to flee, he said.
Kelowna, a city of 150,000, choked on thick smoke as it became the latest population center to be hit by one of the many wildfires that swept through Canada this summer.
“It’s been horrible to spend the week in this air. It’s horrible to breathe,” Mary Hicks, a 29-year-old computer worker who had been visiting the region from Montreal, told AFP on Sunday. “I really want to go home.”
But she was stuck there for now, with her return flight cancelled. The airport hopes to resume flights this week, depending on visibility.
“When I had to pack, at that point I was crying, crying, crying,” said April, 39, who with her two young children fled her east Kelowna home and was staying at a hotel outside the city.
Across Lake Okanagan, several homes burned on the outskirts of West Kelowna, though officials remained optimistic the city could avoid a full evacuation.
However, some residents remained concerned.
“My sister’s boyfriend’s house burned down. He lives on the west side of Kelowna and it was so windy that the fire was spreading and they couldn’t control it,” said Bogi Bagosi, a 16-year-old student.
“It’s a bit heartbreaking to see the city burn down. They’re doing everything they can to stop it, but it’s not enough.”
yellow knife exodus
Meanwhile, fires in the neighboring Northwest Territories have prompted the evacuation of the regional capital, Yellowknife, leaving the remote city of around 20,000 largely a ghost town.
Overnight showers brought some relief to Yellowknife on Saturday, however “a little rain doesn’t mean it’s safe to come home,” warned Northwest Territories Environment Minister Shane Thompson.
Yellowknife official Chris Greencorn praised the work crews were doing to build defenses around the town, with large areas cleared to create firebreaks and pipes laid for sprinklers and water cannons.
The exodus from Yellowknife and elsewhere means that two-thirds of the population of the near-Arctic territory has been displaced, Thompson said.
The fires have caused a “terrible loss,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters after meeting Yellowknife evacuees on Friday as they arrived in Edmonton, Alberta, with no idea when they might return home.
At a news conference on Sunday, Trudeau praised Canadians for their response to the evacuations.
“Canadians have stepped up and shown who they really are, as people are there to help friends, neighbors, strangers, their homes, their communities, to support them,” he said.
US Northwest Threat
West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund announced an emergency order Saturday halting non-essential visitors to the area.
The order, which prohibits visitors from checking into hotels and other temporary accommodations, covers Kelowna and the nearby cities of Kamloops, Oliver, Penticton and Vernon, as well as Osoyoos near the US border.
“If you are currently in accommodations in these areas, we ask that you voluntarily leave early and free up those spaces for evacuees and first responders,” Ma said.
Firefighters from Australia, Mexico, Brazil and Costa Rica, as well as eastern Canada, are helping British Columbia battle the blazes.
Across the border in the United States, several thousand people were forced to flee wildfires in Washington state, with at least one death reported, local media said.
An evacuation was ordered for Medical Lake, a town outside of Spokane next to a US Air Force base, while a section of the vital I-90 highway was closed, authorities said.
Canada is experiencing a record-breaking wildfire season, with official estimates of more than 14 million hectares (34.6 million acres) already burned, roughly the size of Greece and nearly double the area of the last record 7.3 million. of hectares. Four people have died so far.
Scientists say man-made global warming is exacerbating natural hazards, making them more frequent and deadlier.
(AFP)
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