As the worst wildfires in Canadian history continue to rage, the province of British Columbia announced a state of emergency to deal with the natural calamity. Smoke and flames from wildfires serve as a backdrop for homes across Okanagan Lake in West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, August 17, 2023. (REUTERS)

Describing this as the “worst BC wildfire season ever”, British Columbia’s Premier David Eby tweeted, “Over the past 24 hrs, the situation has evolved rapidly and we are in for an extremely challenging situation in the days ahead. Given these fast-moving conditions, we are declaring a provincial state of emergency.”

At least 15,000 people face an evacuation order as major cities like Kelowna come within the range of the sweeping wildfires.

The announcement of the emergency in BC followed that in the NorthWest Territories or NWT, where the capital Yellowknife, where the entire population is being evacuated, with residents fleeing to the neighbouring province of Alberta.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau visited evacuees from the city at the Expo Center in the city of Edmonton in Alberta on Friday.

“We’re all tired of the word unprecedented, yet there is no other way to describe this situation in the Northwest Territories. The country is watching, and our neighbours are keeping us in their thoughts and prayers,” the territory’s Premier Caroline Cochrane tweeted.

The Canadian Armed Forces have already joined in the rescue mission, with Minister of National Defence Bill Blair announcing that the air force is operating evacuation flights out of Yellowknife. The entire city is being evacuated as it faces the threat of being engulfed by the fires around it.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office over 5,500 wildfires have “ravaged” provinces and territories this year. Earlier in April, Trudeau had attributed the disastrous scenario to climate change. While earlier the wildfires had impacted the eastern and Atlantic provinces like Quebec, Alberta and Ontario, they are now hitting BC and NWT.

According to data from the Federal Government, about 13.4 million hectare of land has burned this year, as against the 1989 record of 7.6 million hectare. The 10 year average is 2.2 million hectare per annum.

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