Wildfires displace 30,000 residents in British Columbia
In West Kelowna, homes have been damaged, major fires have broken out near 2 communes, Highway 1 participants are shut down.
Fires broke out across the Central Okanagan in British Columbia on Friday night, destroying homes. On Saturday, firefighters continued to fight those fires, as well as others burning across the province.
A state of emergency has been declared in British Columbia as hundreds of wildfires continue to burn across the province, including dangerously close to populated areas. The Ministry of Emergency Management has issued evacuation orders in areas totaling 30,000 people. Another 36,000 were told to prepare to evacuate at any moment.
B.C. Premier David Eby says he is issuing an order restricting travel to southern B.C. to stay in temporary accommodations, like hotels and motels, and campgrounds. The order applies to Kelowna, West Kelowna, Kamloops, Oliver, Osoyoos, Pentiction and Vernon and will be in effect until Sept. 4.
"We shouldn't need an order," Eby said. "Please just stay out of these areas if you don't have to be there," the prime minister concluded.
Eby also disclosed that emergency measures have been authorized to deploy municipal resources of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to areas where residents have been evacuated to secure vacant properties.
West Kelowna has been hit hard by wildfires lately. The McDougall Creek fire in the city has grown more than 100 times in just one day, from 64 to 6,800 hectares. As of Friday night, it was already more than 105 hectares in size.
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