Canadian wildfires that have already driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and even jumped a lake amid gusty winds continue to spread at an alarming rate with no sign of stopping.
Hundreds of fires currently classed as “out of control” — mostly larger than 1,000 acres — are raging across the North American country, official trackers have shown.
The Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS) indicates that while hundreds of fires that broke out in the past 24 hours are now “under control,” at least double that number have been ignited to replace them.
It comes after horrific wildfire scenes in Maui, Hawaii, where 111 people are registered dead and hundreds are still missing — and Lahaina residents told DailyMail.com that the death toll has been underestimated and is in reality at least 480.
Residents said the situation was so dire that the body bags in the morgues had run out.
Canadian wildfires that have already driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and even jumped a lake amid gusty winds continue to spread at an alarming rate with no sign of stopping
Hundreds of fires currently classed as ‘out of control’ – mostly larger than 1,000 acres – are raging through the North American country, official trackers show
In one of the hardest hit areas of West Kelowna, British Columbia, winds of 70 mph fanned flames over Lake Okanagan, destroying several properties along the way.
A local state of emergency has been declared in Kelowna after fires forced evacuations in the city’s Clifton neighborhood on Friday morning.
In the past 24 hours, the city’s fires have grown a hundredfold as they spread from the city’s northwest, and BC Wildfire Service said they have now destroyed 6,800 acres of territory.
Some hills around the city glowed at dawn after wildfires raging since Tuesday crossed Lake Okanagan and spread to parts of Kelowna.
“We fought hard last night to protect our community,” Jason Brolund, West Kelowna fire chief, told reporters on Friday. “Night became day through the orange glow of the clouds and the fire.”
Videos and photos from the area show apocalyptic scenes.
Daytime shots show houses and wildfires under an amber sky filled with thick clouds of suffocating smoke.
In other videos, the skyline is barely visible as smoke billows from all directions at people huddled on the side of a road in West Kelowna, hopelessly watching their hometown burn.
In the same region, firefighters can be seen tackling monster fires that make their water hoses smaller by comparison.
More than 2,400 properties were evacuated, officials said, and thousands more stand by to leave with little notice if necessary.
In one of the hardest hit areas of West Kelowna, British Columbia, winds of 70 mph fanned flames across Lake Okanagan, destroying several properties along the way
Some hills around the city burned at dawn after wildfires raging since Tuesday crossed Lake Okanagan and spread to parts of Kelowna
The Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS) indicates that while hundreds of fires that broke out in the past 24 hours are now “under control,” at least double that number have been ignited to replace them
Similar scenes have unfolded in the country near Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, where more than 20,000 people have been told to flee their homes.
“Out of control” fires threaten to close access to the only highway outside the city and officials have warned that without much-needed downpour, the blaze could reach the city by the weekend.
Evacuation flights also departed from Yellowknife Airport, as residents of the regional capital were given until 12 noon Friday to leave.
Emergency services built firebreaks, installed sprinkler lines and water cannons and applied fire retardants in an effort to prevent the blaze from reaching the city — which remains a real possibility for days to come, officials said.
Strong northerly winds could drive the flames toward the only road leading away from the blaze, officials warned, which had been choked by long caravans of cars.
Northwesterly winds over the next two days will send the fire “in directions we don’t want,” said Northwest Territories firefighter Mike Westwick.
Across the area, 6,800 people in eight other communities were also forced to evacuate their homes, including the small community of Enterprise, which was largely destroyed.
Ten planes departed Yellowknife on Thursday with 1,500 passengers and 22 more are expected to depart Friday with an additional 1,800 passengers.
Northwesterly winds over the next two days will send the fire “in directions we don’t want,” said Northwest Territories firefighter Mike Westwick.
About 65 percent of the Northwest Territories total population of 46,000 is expected to be evacuated
Experts say climate change has exacerbated wildfire crisis as it comes after much of Canada has experienced abnormally dry conditions
“I want to make it clear that the city is not in immediate danger and that there is a safe window for residents to leave the city by road and air,” Shane Thompson, a minister for the Territories, told a news conference.
“Without rain, it is possible that (the fire) will reach the outskirts of the city by the weekend.”
“We are all tired of the word unprecedented, but there is no other way to describe this situation in the Northwest Territories,” Prime Minister Caroline Cochrane wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The infernos, which mark the latest chapter in a terrible summer for wildfires in Canada – the worst fire season on record – also threaten to send huge plumes of toxic smog across the United States in echoes of similar scenes earlier this summer.
An official forecast map shows that smoke is expected to blow southeastward throughout Friday and across the Midwest into the eastern United States.
About 65 percent of the Northwest Territories’ 46,000 residents are expected to be evacuated.
Fire crews were clearing vegetation to create firebreaks, setting up sprinkler systems and deliberately lighting fires to eliminate fuel before the larger blaze approaches, the fire department said.
Experts say climate change has exacerbated the wildfire crisis as it comes after much of Canada has experienced abnormally dry conditions.
Drought and high temperatures have contributed to the number and intensity of fires this year.