As forest fires rage in western Canada, some areas, including this property in Ashcroft, British Columbia, have been spared from being burned, thanks to fire retardant on the ground.

About 150 fires were burning in British Columbia on the Pacific coast, and more than half of them remained out of control, firefighting officials said on Wednesday.

The provincial government also extended a state of emergency and announced aid for at least 46,000 people who have been evacuated from their homes.

Firefighters have been making drops of fire retardant over the affected areas, keeping some homes safe from the raging blaze.

Some residents who were allowed to return to their homes found their yards, cars and much of their property covered in firefighting chemicals.

"Red fire retardant everywhere, all over everything," Ms Nicky Horth, a resident of Cache Creek, a town about 350km north-east of Vancouver, told CBC News.

But she added: "We have a home, but it is going to take a lot to clean it. Other people don't have a home, so you feel bad for them as well, you know."