Canada to deploy armed forces in British Columbia to tackle fast-spreading fires
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Evacuees from the McDougall Creek wildfire gather outside a community centre in West Kelowna, British Columbia.
PHOTO: AFP
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OTTAWA - Canada is sending the military to tackle fast-spreading wildfires
British Columbia declared a state of emergency and imposed a ban on non-essential travel to free up accommodation for evacuees and firefighters, and urged drone operators and others capturing images of the fires to stay clear of rescue workers.
In some cities in British Columbia, the air quality index (AQI), which measures major pollutants including particulate matter produced by fires, was above 350, a “hazardous” level, according to IQAir, a real-time air-quality information platform. At midnight local time, the city of Salmon Arm was recording the nation’s worst AQI, with a reading of 470. Among other cities, Kelowna College and Sicamous both had an AQI of 423.
West Kelowna fire chief Jason Brolund said he saw some hope after battling “epic” fires for the past four days. He said conditions have improved, helping firefighters to put “boots on the ground” and dump water on flames that threatened the town of 150,000 people.
“We are finally feeling like we are moving forward rather than moving backwards, and that’s a great feeling,” Mr Brolund told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
Mr Trudeau said in a tweet that the federal government will offer support from the Canadian military “to help with evacuations, staging” and other logistical tasks, in response to a request from the British Columbia government.
Forest fires are not uncommon in Canada but the spread of blazes and disruptions underscore the severity of the country’s worst wildfire season yet, which some experts have blamed on climate change.
Other fires, exacerbated by severe drought, have been reported closer to the United States border and in the US Pacific North-west.
Deer crossing a road in a neighbourhood filled with smoke in the Glenmore Highlands area of Kelowna, British Columbia.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Just across the border in Washington state, firefighters battled two major blazes, the Gray Fire and the Oregon Road Fire, which together had blackened more than 8,000ha of forest and destroyed more than 100 structures.
In Canada, government officials urged residents in evacuation-order zones to leave immediately to save their lives and prevent firefighters from dying trying to rescue them.
Officials have not given any estimates of the total number of buildings destroyed. Videos and photos on social media showed destroyed structures and vehicles, and huge flames consuming trees.
A man spraying water on hot spots near a house in Celista, British Columbia.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
The Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain pipeline and its expansion project, which makes its way to the Pacific coast through the interior of British Columbia, was unaffected by the fires, a company spokesman said on Sunday.
The Coquihalla stretch of the pipeline expansion, south-west of Kamloops, is the closest to the fire.
“Underground pipelines are typically buried a few feet below the surface and are protected from fire by the soil and the constant movement of liquid moving through the pipeline,” the spokesman added.
The fires have drained local resources and drawn in federal government assistance as well as support from 13 countries. At least four firefighters have died.
About 140,000 sq km of land, roughly the size of New York state, have been scorched nationwide, with smoky haze extending as far as the US East Coast. Government officials project that the fire season could stretch into autumn because of widespread drought-like conditions. REUTERS
