2023-08-20 06:37:11
The violent fires continue to raise fears for the worst in Canada. Authorities in western British Columbia urged tens of thousands of residents to take evacuation orders seriously on Saturday as ‘extreme and rapidly evolving’ wildfires threatened large parts of the scenic Okanagan Valley, including the city of Kelowna.
The situation in this region is “very dynamic”, said Bowinn Ma, emergency manager for the province of British Columbia. About 30,000 people have been ordered to evacuate, while another 36,000 are on high alert and ready to flee.
A “matter of life or death”
“We stress the absolute importance of immediately following evacuation orders,” Bowinn Ma said. are sometimes forced to come back and beg people to leave”.
Kelowna, a city of 150,000 inhabitants, suffocated by thick smoke, is the latest urban center to fall victim to the dramatic forest fires across Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he spoke with British Columbia Premier David Eby about the “rapidly evolving and incredibly devastating wildfire situation” and pledged federal resources.
The fires also affect the north of the country. The winds fanned the wildfires towards Yellowknife, capital of the Northwest Territories, but Saturday saw some respite after overnight rains caused a sharp drop in temperatures. Since the evacuation was ordered there on Wednesday, most people have fled by road and several thousand have taken emergency flights, Northwest Territories Environment Minister Shane Thompson said Saturday.
“About 1,000 essential personnel remain in the city and its surroundings,” he added. These crews remain to erect defenses against the blazes, and water bombers have been seen over the town, and the Canadian military has provided support. Some 40 flights carrying about 3,500 passengers from Yellowknife have arrived in Calgary, officials said in the city, which has made nearly 500 hotel rooms available.
Evacuations also in the United States
In the Kelowna area, the situation is also critical on the other side of Lake Okanagan, in West Kelowna (more than 30,000 inhabitants) where “a significant number” of houses have burned down, according to authorities.
On the other side of the border, in the United States, several thousand people had to flee the forest fires in the state of Washington, where at least one death was reported, according to local media. An evacuation has been ordered at Medical Lake, near Spokane and next to a US Air Force base. A section of the I-90 freeway connecting Seattle to the east of the country has been closed.
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