Approximately 30,000 people were ordered to evacuate their homes in western Canada’s British Columbia on Saturday, as a roaring wildfire crept down on the city of Kelowna.
“The situation is highly dynamic and the numbers are changing all the time”, Bowinn Ma, British Columbia’s minister of emergency management and climate readiness, said.
“But as of now we are currently hovering at about 30,000 people on evacuation order and an additional 36,000 people on evacuation alert”, Ma continued.
Kelowna, a city of 150,000 people, was engulfed in dense smoke as it became the latest population centre to be struck by a summer of spectacular wildfires across Canada that has charred millions of acres scorched.
Ma stated at a press conference, “We cannot stress strongly enough how critical it is to follow evacuation orders when they are issued”.
“They are a matter of life and death not only for the people in those properties but also for the first responders who will often go back to try to implore people to leave”, Ma added.
Premier David Eby provided slightly different figures for the number of evacuees across the province, stating 35,000 had been instructed to prepare to flee if necessary.
Authorities encouraged thrill-seekers to avoid the area because their presence could hamper the operation of firemen and first responders.
Eby and Ma both issued an emergency order prohibiting non-essential visitors to the area.
The injunction prohibits travelers from checking into hotels or other temporary accommodations in Kelowna and the surrounding cities of Kamloops, Oliver, Penticton, and Vernon as well as Osoyoos near the US border.
“Please just stay out of these areas if you don’t have to be there”, Eby said.
The evacuation happen just after the Northwest Territories city of Yellowknife was emptied in the region’s largest-ever evacuation.
According to government weather forecasts, winds have been driving flames in Yellowknife, but overnight rain and a significant drop in temperatures.
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