The fire in the West Kelowna town forced authorities to declare a state of emergency there.
Meanwhile, the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories has become a virtual ghost town after nearly all of its 20,000 residents fled the city, fleeing one of hundreds of fires burning across Canada.
British Columbia was under a state of emergency as firefighters waged an epic battle. West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund told a news conference that the fire “is exponentially worse than we expected.”
“We fought 100 years of fires in one night,” Brolund said Friday, ahead of another night of fighting the flames. No deaths were reported, but he said “a significant number” of structures were destroyed.
Firefighters in Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, fear the blaze will reach the city this weekend if it doesn’t rain. Clear skies were forecast in the province for Saturday.
Authorities said late Friday that about 19,000 people had left Yellowknife in less than 48 hours: about 15,000 in vehicle convoys and about 3,800 on emergency flights.
Fears were rampant that the only escape route would be cut off as some 2,600 people remained at the scene, including emergency teams, firefighters, power company workers and police, as well as residents who refused to leave.
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
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