Kelowna, a city of 150,000, was shrouded in thick smoke as wildfires raged across Canada.
Kelowna, Canada:
A fierce forest fire broke out in the city of Kelowna in Western Canada. About 30,000 people in British Columbia were ordered to evacuate their homes on Saturday. Provincial officials said the situation is extremely dynamic and the numbers are changing.
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Evacuation alerts hover over an additional 36,000 people
British Columbia’s Emergency Management and Climate Minister Bovin Ma said, “Right now we have ordered about 30,000 people to evacuate.” While an additional 36,000 people are on evacuation alert.
The city of 150,000 people is covered in thick smoke
Kelowna, a city of 150,000, was shrouded in thick smoke as it became the latest population center to burn millions of acres in wildfires across Canada. “We can’t stress enough how important it is to follow evacuation orders,” Bowin Ma said. When they are issued,
“They are a matter of life and death, not only for the people who live in those properties, but also for the first responders, who often go back to urge people to leave,” he said.
30,000 people should be ready to leave the site if necessary
At the same time, Premier David Abbey gave a slightly different figure for the number of people evacuated from across the province, saying 35,000 people had been ordered to leave their homes. While 30,000 people were told to be ready to flee if necessary.