Fires in western Canada, 1,000 people evacuated

About a thousand people were evacuated Wednesday evening in British Columbia, western Canada, due to fires adding to the unprecedented heat wave, announced Thursday 1^{he is} July county authorities.

British Prime Minister John Horgan said British Columbia had recorded 62 new fires in the past 24 hours. “I can only confirm that there is currently a significant fire hazard in almost all of British Columbia and I urge British Columbians to listen carefully to the authorities and follow the instructions.”, pressed during a press conference.

John Horgan said he has requested reinforcements from Justin Trudeau’s federal government. “The past twenty-four hours have been devastating to the people of Leyton. ForcesCanada [Forces armées canadiennes] ready to help the peopleCanadian Defense Minister Harjit Sagan confirmed on Twitter.

The county authorities have not yet announced any injuries or deaths related to these fires, which were identified in particular north of the city of Kamloops, 350 kilometers northeast of Vancouver.

At about 5 p.m., the British Columbia Fire Department made it clear that they expect “Another very difficult day with the wildfires”, Because “Unprecedented hot and dry conditions have been encountered in recent days”.

The village of Leyton was destroyed

The exceptionally strong ridge over British Columbia will continue to achieve record temperatures for the next two daysEnvironment Canada said in a bulletin published early Thursday morning for the Prince George region in British Columbia. The length of this heat wave is concerning, as there is little respite from the heat at night due to the higher night temperatures. “

The village of Leighton, about 250 kilometers northeast of Vancouver, which is now famous for setting a national heat record of 49.6 degrees Celsius this week, has been almost completely destroyed. 250 residents were evacuated Wednesday evening due to a fire that spread very quickly. The eviction order was then extended, Wednesday night to Thursday, for residents of a hundred properties north of Lytton. In total, more than 1,000 people had been evacuated at the end of Wednesday.

“90% of the village is burnt down, including downtown”Constituency Representative Brad Weiss said on Facebook early Thursday. British Columbia officials said some residents were missing.

On Thursday, the heat wave continued to move east across the prairies of central Canada. Aside from British Columbia, heatwave warnings have been issued for the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as well as part of the Northwest Territories, now northern Ontario.