Western Canada wildfires prompt state of emergency, evacuations

By Dennis Owen

 

British Columbia wildfires seen near 100 Mile House in British Columbia, Canada in this handout photo obtained by Reuters July 7, 2017. BC Wildfire Service/Handout via REUTERS

 

KAMLOOPS, British Columbia (Reuters) - Some 180 wildfires raged over a massive section of Western Canada's British Columbia on Saturday, prompting the evacuation of 3,000 households and the province's first state of emergency in 14 years.

 

The blazes were scattered across hundreds of kilometers of the interior portion of the province, burning through bone-dry forests used for logging and rolling grasslands that are home to ranches. High temperatures and winds complicated firefighting efforts.

 

"The weather situation is not favorable," said John Rustad, provincial minister in charge of firefighting operations. "There is very aggressive fire behavior that makes it very difficult to directly attack."

 

The spate of wildfires began on Friday, when 138 new fires were reported, most of them sparked by lightning in dry electrical storms.

 

No injuries or deaths were reported. Provincial officials said they did not know how much damage had been caused, though evacuees said they had left behind farm animals and witnessed destruction of homes and other buildings.

 

Some evacuees made their way to a make-shift emergency center at a sporting facility in Kamloops, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) northeast of Vancouver.

 

Some people said they were not given adequate time to pack up their goods. Others, who had been away from their homes on vacation, feared they would lose cherished belongings in the fires.

 

Chalky red fire retardant dust was splashed on some vehicles that passed through areas that were sprayed with the substance from "water bomber" planes used to fight the fire.

 

Canada's federal government on Saturday offered to help British Columbia respond to the fast-spreading wildfires, though provincial authorities said they may have enough resources already.

 

Rustad said that he expected about 260 personnel from other jurisdictions in Canada to support a team of more than 1,600 people helping respond to the fire.

 

"We are bringing a tremendous amount of resources to bear," he said, noting that their main priority was "to keep people safe."

 

British Columbia last declared a state of emergency in August 2003, which was also to deal with wildfires.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-07-09

There's a pine beetle which is spreading massively in that region - which has a major effect.  There are large swaths of forests in western Canada which are heavily hit by the beetle invasion.

 

A warming planet is the beetles friend.

13 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

There's a pine beetle which is spreading massively in that region - which has a major effect.  There are large swaths of forests in western Canada which are heavily hit by the beetle invasion.

 

A warming planet is the beetles friend.

Yes, a friend of mine hiked through British Columbia and he said it was horrible to see the damage those beetles are doing, global warming is causing it, theres no denying that.

Last year Alberta had the very expensive fire at Fort McMurray, and this year it seems like B.C.

is getting the damaging forest fires.  I hope the people fighting the fires are able to save the

communities an towns that are being threatened by them.  There are areas that the pine beatles

have damaged the forest, and some areas that have been burned deliberately to try kill off some of

those vile critters. They sure do destroy a lot of the forested areas.  And it is a nature thing, I certainly

am not getting on the band wagon for Global warming being the cause for the pine beatles. They have

existed for hundreds of years, If not thousands.

Geezer

Just now, Stargrazer9889 said:

Last year Alberta had the very expensive fire at Fort McMurray, and this year it seems like B.C.

is getting the damaging forest fires.  I hope the people fighting the fires are able to save the

communities an towns that are being threatened by them.  There are areas that the pine beatles

have damaged the forest, and some areas that have been burned deliberately to try kill off some of

those vile critters. They sure do destroy a lot of the forested areas.  And it is a nature thing, I certainly

am not getting on the band wagon for Global warming being the cause for the pine beatles. They have

existed for hundreds of years, If not thousands.

Geezer

But have they been destroying forests this far north for all of that time?

Oops parton my mis spelling.  Thanks for being a teacher.

A spelling police troll post has been removed. 

3 hours ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

Last year Alberta had the very expensive fire at Fort McMurray, and this year it seems like B.C.

is getting the damaging forest fires.  I hope the people fighting the fires are able to save the

communities an towns that are being threatened by them.  There are areas that the pine beatles

have damaged the forest, and some areas that have been burned deliberately to try kill off some of

those vile critters. They sure do destroy a lot of the forested areas.  And it is a nature thing, I certainly

am not getting on the band wagon for Global warming being the cause for the pine beatles. They have

existed for hundreds of years, If not thousands.

Geezer

They cannot thrive in the normal climate of BC Canada. The warmer weather there is absolutely causing that. What is causing the warmer weather? Just nature maybe, CO2 maybe, I don't know or care that much but the trees sure are taking a beating.