The remaining residents from the remote northern Canadian city of Yellowknife sought to get out of town on Friday before flames blocked their exit, while another wildfire in the western province of British Columbia prompted new evacuation orders.
A state of emergency was declared early on Friday in and around Kelowna, a city some 300 kilometres east of Vancouver with a population of about 150,000.
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Officials said the next 24 to 48 hours could be the most difficult. The airspace was closed to clear the way for water bombers.
More than 2,400 properties were evacuated, officials said, and thousands more are on alert to leave with little notice if necessary. Several structures were destroyed in West Kelowna during the night, he said.
The expanse of fires and disruption to life and land underscore the severity of this year’s worst-on-record Canadian wildfire season, with more than 1,000 active fires burning across the country.
Editor Oloyede Oworu
