Wildfires displace 30,000 residents in British Columbia

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.

Nevertheless, overnight firefighters made significant progress in extinguishing the fire, helped in part by the weather. Temperatures more typical of the current season have been returning to B.C. lately. The chief of the West Kelowna Fire and Rescue Service said firefighters working together across the province were able to save hundreds of structures from fire overnight.

In West Kelowna, an evacuation order has been issued for residents of more than 2,400 homes, and residents of nearly 5,000 more should be prepared to evacuate at a moment's notice. The wildfire has destroyed several structures in the city, but the exact number is unknown. Airspace over West Kelowna remains closed.

In the Shuswap region, the Lower East Adams Lake and Bush Creek East wildfires have merged into one large fire that has advanced 20 kilometers in 24 hours. This is a significant "run" of flames for British Columbia, according to local fire officials. The fire destroyed properties in the community of Celista, located on the shores of Shuswap Lake. The B.C. Fire Service says most of the affected properties are vacation and recreational homes. However, exactly how many properties burned has not yet been determined.

A section of Highway 1 between the communities of Chase and Sorrento has reportedly been closed. The section of Highway 1 between the municipality of Hope and the village of Lytton is also closed.

Residents of many homes had to be evacuated from the village of Lytton due to large fires. The Kookipi Creek fire south of Lytton, which was 105 square kilometers in size at noon Saturday, has prompted multiple evacuation orders and evacuation preparedness warnings.

Numerous fires are also burning in the vicinity of the community of Invermere in southeastern British Columbia. Authorities are urging residents to stay calm and have announced the evacuation of people living in the area of the Panorama Mountain resort.