Hundreds Ordered To Evacuate As Fires Burn Across Canada-US border

OTTAWA (IANS) – Hundreds of people in western Canada have been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire burning across the country’s border with the US.

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen and the town of Osoyoos issued an evacuation order on the evening on July 30 for 732 properties in and around Osoyoos, east of Vancouver.

On the Canadian side of the border, the fire had grown to 885 hectares as of July 30 night, while on the US side, the fire had burned more than 4,000 hectares, Washington State wildfire officials were quoted as saying.

An evacuation alert means residents should prepare to evacuate their homes, while an evacuation order means residents should leave immediately.

Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff urged residents and businesses to reduce water consumption and not to water lawns in order to conserve resources for the firefighting effort.

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre said that there were over 1,000 active wildfires nationwide with over 600 of them out of control.

So far this year, the country has registered over 5,000 wildfires, which have devoured about 126,000 square kms of land.