The premier of the Canadian province of British Columbia has declared a state of emergency, saying authorities there were “facing the worst wildfire season ever”, as thousands were evacuated from cities east of Vancouver.
Premier David Eby said on Friday night: “Over the past 24 hours, the situation has evolved rapidly and we are in for an extremely challenging situation in the days ahead.”
Firefighters are battling the out of control McDougall Creek wildfire which has raged across 10,500 hectares amid gusty conditions in the hills and mountains above the city of West Kelowna, forcing thousands of evacuations. West Kelowna, a city of 36,000 people, lies 300km (180 miles) east of Vancouver.
Evacuations were also being carried out in nearby Kelowna, a city with a population of about 150,000 that lies across Okanagan Lake from West Kelowna.
It came as authorities further north in the Northwest Territories region said more than 19,000 people are believed to have evacuated from the wildfires threatening the city of Yellowknife. Fire crews there are working around the clock to dig fuel breaks, spread fire retardant and drop water from the air in emergency efforts to protect the city of 20,000. Cloud cover and cooler temperatures slowed the fire west of Yellowknife on Friday, firefighters said.
An estimated 4,000 people were taken out by air, with the possibility of more flights on Saturday if the weather, planes and crew hold out. The province’s environment minister, Shane Thompson, said about 1,000 essential staff were remaining but urged anyone else to leave.
Canada is enduring its worst wildfire season, with more than 1,000 active fires burning across the country, including 236 in the Northwest Territories. Fires in the territory have burned more than 2m hectares of land, and more than half of the region’s population is under evacuation orders.
Yellowknife mayor Rebecca Alty said on Friday it was unclear when residents would be able to return. “Unfortunately, the journey isn’t done yet. The fire continues to approach and the uncertainty of when you’ll be able to return will be difficult,” she said.
Some residents reported difficulties in staying on top of the fast-changing events: communications have been hampered by rumours, patchy cellphone reception and a Facebook ban on sharing news links.
Citizens and news organisations in Canada are barred from posting news links to Facebook and Instagram after the technology giant disabled access last month due to a row with the federal government over legislation that would force internet giants to pay news publishers.
In West Kelowna, flames and smoke were visible from the city, according to a witness, as footage emerged on social media showing blazes in the valley surrounding the lake.
In a joint statement with emergencies minister Bowinn Ma, Eby said: “There are numerous fires across the province threatening communities. Thousands of people are under evacuation orders, and tens of thousands more are on evacuation alert.”
They urged people to stay away from high-risk areas and give emergency crews space to operate. “We’re calling on all British Columbians to be alert, listen to local officials and follow evacuation orders. We will get through this together.”
Officials said the next 24 to 48 hours could be the most difficult. Earlier the airspace in the area was closed to clear the way for water bombers.
“We fought hard last night to protect our community,” Jason Brolund, West Kelowna fire chief, told reporters. “Night turned to day because of the orange glow of the clouds and the fire.”
More than 2,400 properties were evacuated, officials said, and several structures were destroyed in West Kelowna during the night, he said.
