Canada wildfire ‘out of control’ near Kelowna in British Columbia, houses destroyed

Several homes were reportedly destroyed as wildfires got out of control near Kelowna in British Columbia, Canada, with the administration issuing an order for mass evacuations.

Officials in British Columbia, western Canada, where about 370 fires are burning, were bracing for more evacuations after dry lightning and brisk winds were forecast for the coming days.

The evacuation order was put in place for the city of West Kelowna, which was under threat of a different fire.

Residents in the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories were rushing to beat a noon Friday deadline to evacuate their homes as one of hundreds of wildfires raging in the territories moved closer to the city of 20,000.

Thousands fled on Thursday, driving hundreds of miles to safety or waiting in long lines for emergency flights, as the worst fire season on record in Canada showed no signs of easing.

The fire was within 16 kilometres of Yellowknife’s northern edge Thursday and officials worried that strong northern winds could push the flames toward the only highway leading away from the fire, which was choked with long caravans of cars.

Ten planes left Yellowknife on Thursday with 1,500 passengers, said Jennifer Young, director of corporate affairs for the Northwest Territories’ Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, adding that they hope to have 22 flights leave on Friday with 1,800 more passengers.

“I want to be clear that the city is not in immediate danger and there’s a safe window for residents to leave the city by road and by air,” Shane Thompson, a government minister for the Territories, told a news conference. “Without rain, it is possible (the fire) will reach the city outskirts by the weekend.”

Canada has seen a record number of wildfires this year — contributing to choking smoke in parts of the US— with more than 5,700 fires burning more than 137,000 square kilometres (53,000 square miles) from one end of Canada to the other, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

As of Thursday evening, 1,046 wildfires were burning across the country, more than half of them out of control.