Canadian wildfires: Two cities Kelowna, Yellowknife urged to evacuate by noon on Friday

 

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A massive wildfire in Canada’s western province of British Columbia prompted evacuation orders early on Friday while residents from the remote northern city of Yellowknife scrambled to get out of town before flames block their exit.

A state of emergency was declared early Friday in Kelowna, a city some 300 km east of Vancouver with a population of about 150,000. The Pacific province says the next 24 to 48 hours could be the most difficult.

Canada has seen a record number of wildfires this year, with more than 5,700 fires burning more than 137,000 square kilometres, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

Teams including members of the military were cutting down vegetation to create fire breaks, setting up sprinkler systems, and setting deliberate fires to eliminate fuel before the bigger blaze approaches.