Canada wildfires: thousands told to flee in British Columbia, as drone-flying tourists criticised

The McDougall Creek wildfire burns at the edge of West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, on Saturday. Photograph: Chris Helgren/Reuters

Officials in the Canadian province of British Columbia have implored tens of thousands of residents to heed warnings and evacuate from areas threatened by “severe and fast-changing” wildfires, and urged “irresponsible” wildfire tourists to stop flying drones in the area.

“We cannot stress strongly enough how critical it is to follow evacuation orders when they are issued,” Bowinn Ma, the province’s minister of emergency management, said on Saturday. “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.”