1000 Wildfires Occur in Canada... Consecutive 'State of Emergency' Declared

Canada is suffering from an unprecedented disaster with over 1,000 wildfires this year, leading several provinces to declare states of emergency.

Satellite image of a wildfire northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, taken on the 16th (local time) by NASA's Earth Observatory. Authorities issued an evacuation order for all 20,000 residents of Yellowknife due to the wildfire.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

According to major foreign media on the 18th (local time), David Eby, Premier of British Columbia in western Canada, declared a state of emergency that day. Premier Eby said, "We are facing the worst wildfires in the history of our province," adding, "The situation has deteriorated very rapidly over the past 24 hours, and this unprecedented situation peaked this evening."

In West Kelowna, British Columbia, near the southern U.S. border, wildfires have been raging for several days, burning hills and mountains near the town. Following evacuation orders issued by British Columbia, up to 15,000 people evacuated in the past day, and additional evacuations are underway for about 20,000 more.

In West Kelowna alone, about 2,400 homes have been vacated, and several buildings have burned down and collapsed. Authorities reported that some firefighters were unable to escape the site while trying to rescue remaining residents. No confirmed deaths have been reported yet.

Premier Eby said, "At this point, it is impossible to predict how the situation will unfold," adding, "Challenges are expected." The Northwest Territories, adjacent to the Arctic Ocean, also declared a state of emergency on the 15th due to wildfires and issued evacuation orders the following day to respond to the disaster.

According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), the total area affected by ongoing wildfires across Canada is about 137,000 km². There have been over 1,000 reported incidents, with half of the fires known to be uncontrollable.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.