Symbolic imageOttawa approves federal aid as 102 wildfires burn in British Columbia
Canada's federal government has approved shelter for thousands driven from their homes by wildfires in British Columbia, where 102 fires were burning at the weekend. The province declared a state of emergency on Saturday.
Emergency management minister Eleanor Olszewski said she had approved the province's request and tasked Public Safety Canada's Government Operations Centre to work with British Columbia. Nearly half the fires were out of control on Sunday and 78 of them started in the past week, the BC Wildfire Service said. Reuters reported on Monday that fires in the province's south kept spreading and that poor visibility was hampering aviation and ground crews.
Summerland cleared overnight
The Bald Range fire, first detected on Friday, 7 August, grew within hours to more than 100 square kilometres and ran about 15 kilometres toward Okanagan Lake. Summerland, a town of about 12,000, was evacuated overnight on Saturday along with 8,000 people near Peachland; Reuters puts the displaced at about 18,000, the Guardian at about 22,000.
A death and a worse forecast
The RCMP said an 80-year-old woman died while trying to escape the fire near Okanagan Lake. Cliff Chapman of the BC Wildfire Service said a hot, dry summer had produced explosive conditions that lightning forecast this week could worsen.
Other opinions
Telesur, Venezuelan state-affiliated, treats that death as unverified and foregrounds prime minister Mark Carney's pledge of full federal backing and provincial minister Kelly Greene.