British Columbia Declares State Of Emergency As Nearly 140 Wildfires Ravage Province

The province of British Columbia declared a state of emergency as fast-growing wildfires threatened communities across central Columbia, according to the British Columbia Wildfire Service. Nearly 140 wildfires broke out Friday across the westernmost province of Canada, consuming dozens of buildings and forcing thousands of people from their homes.

Evacuation orders were issued for the communities of Ashcroft, Cache Creek, Princeton, 105 Mile House and 108 Mile House, while other communities such as 100 Mile House and 150 Mile House were placed on evacuation alert. The cause of the wildfires is yet to be ascertained.

One of the largest fires was near Ashcroft, a town in a dry grasslands area about 74 miles west of Kamloops. The fire was first spotted Thursday evening, about two kilometers southwest of the community. It had grown from 0.1 miles in size just before 2 p.m PDT (5 p.m EDT) to more than 2 miles two hours later and was listed as 5 miles in size late Friday afternoon. As of 9 p.m PDT, the fire grew to cover 15 miles.

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The Thompson-Nicola Regional District declared a state of local emergency because of the fire, which quickly grew over the course Friday.

According to reports, Justine Hunse of the B.C. Wildfire Service said the fire threatening Cache Creek had burned an estimated 2 miles between Cache Creek and Ashcroft after exploding through Friday from a small fire just north of Ashcroft. By Friday evening, an evacuation order had been issued for the entire community of Cache Creek.

Cache Creek Mayor John Ranta said the fire destroyed two airport hangars and all of the 30-or-so homes at a trailer park in Boston Flats, which is about 2 miles south of the town. Ranta added that the fire also consumed three or four homes on the Ashcroft Indian Band reserve, according to CBC News.

The fire forced Highway 1 to shut down in both directions between Ashcroft and Cache Creek, while Highway 97C running through Ashcroft was also closed. The blaze is "displaying aggressive behavior," Hunse said, adding that it was considered to be out of control. Hunse also added: “We have performed a tactical evacuation in the area, which means that firefighters have gone door-to-door to evacuate folks at very short notice.”The BC Wildlife Service banned campfires in cities including Kamloops and Cariboo on Friday afternoon.

“The extended weather forecast is calling for continued hot, dry weather, with risks of thunderstorms in many parts of the province," the province said in a written statement. According to CBC News, the declaration gave emergency resources special authority to deal with the fires.

Air-tankers, the BC Wildfire Service, and the Local Emergency Services worked continuously to ensure the communities were safe and evacuations were carried out promptly.

The BC Wildfire Service posted a tweet at 11.30 p.m PDT stating that the air-tair tankers were retiring for the night and would resume their duty in the morning.

Meanwhile, locals took to social media to upload pictures of the wildfires and inform people about the on-going situation. THey also thanked the fire services for their prompt response.