Overnight progress cited in fight against raging British Columbia wildfires

UPI Staff
·3 min read
2
An aerial photo taken by the BC Wildfire Service shows smoke billowing up from the Bendor Range Complex wildfire near Lillooet, British Columbia, Canada, on Saturday. About 71,000 B.C. residents remained under evacuation orders or alerts due the raging fires. Photo courtesy BC Wildfire Service/X
An aerial photo taken by the BC Wildfire Service shows smoke billowing up from the Bendor Range Complex wildfire near Lillooet, British Columbia, Canada, on Saturday. About 71,000 B.C. residents remained under evacuation orders or alerts due the raging fires. Photo courtesy BC Wildfire Service/X

Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Crews battling raging wildfires the Canadian province of British Columbia said Sunday they have made progress in containing some of the worst of the blazes but warned much more work lies ahead.

Calm winds overnight Saturday were favorable for hundreds of firefighters working on the Grouse Complex and McDougall Creek fires around the city of Kelowna, B.C., officials of the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations and the BC Wildfire Service told reporters at a Sunday morning briefing.

"We got a little more stable, but were not out of the woods." said District of Lake Country Fire Chief Darren Lee, adding that evacuation orders and alerts affecting residents in the area would remain in place.

Fires in and around Kelowna in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley, located about 250 miles east of Vancouver, have forced the evacuation of the entire University of British Columbia campus there.

The area is a popular tourist destination and fires crossed the massive Lake Okanagan earlier in the week. Officials confirmed Friday the famed Lake Okanagan Resort had succumbed to fire, with photos showing the historic hotel engulfed in smoke and flames.

Wildfires in the Pacific Northwest are continuing to grow in British Columbia, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes in several areas of the Western Canadian province. Photo courtesy of BC Wildfire Service
Wildfires in the Pacific Northwest are continuing to grow in British Columbia, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes in several areas of the Western Canadian province. Photo courtesy of BC Wildfire Service

Overall, a total of 35,000 British Columbia residents remained under evacuation orders while another 36,000 were on evacuation alert. The province on Saturday decreed that only essential travel is allowed into the affected areas of the Central Interior and Southeast BC.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday he has received and approved British Columbia's request for federal assistance.

"We're deploying @CanadianForces assets and providing resources to help with evacuations, staging, and other logistical tasks," he said in a post on the social media platform X. " We'll continue to be here with whatever support is needed."

"This year, we're facing the worst B.C. wildfire season ever, B.C. Premier David Eby said in a statement. "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."

There are currently more than 384 wildfires of differing sizes burning across the province, according to the latest update from the B.C. Wildfire Service.

Forecasters are not predicting any rain in the region until Tuesday.

More than 2,500 firefighters are currently working across the province, with crews from Brazil arriving in late July to help support operations.