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Ottawa: Canada will send a military force to fight widespread wildfires in British Columbia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced. This step comes as more than 35,000 residents of the affected areas have been ordered to evacuate.

On Friday evening, British Columbia declared a state of emergency, giving local authorities additional powers to deal with wildfires. The main fires have been centered around Kelowna, a city about 300 kilometers east of Vancouver with a population of around 150,000.

However, other fires, exacerbated by severe drought, have also been reported closer to the United States border and in the Pacific Northwest region. There, separate wildfires have killed at least one person and destroyed dozens of buildings.

Report Canadian Press recorded more than 380 wildfires in British Columbia, with 150 still out of control. Additionally, there are 236 other wildfires in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

Ministers and Canadian government officials have urged residents of evacuation zones to take immediate action for their own safety as well as to assist the work of firefighters.

David Eby, the premier of British Columbia, issued a nonessential travel ban on Saturday to make room for evacuees and firefighters.

Residents are also reminded not to travel to fire areas and to avoid using drones that could interfere with firefighting efforts.

“Ghost town”

Widespread drought has become one of the main factors in the spread of these fires. At this time, Canadian authorities are unable to provide an estimate of the number of burned buildings in British Columbia.

Prime Minister Trudeau announced via social media on Sunday that the federal government would send military aid after receiving an official request from authorities in British Columbia.

Wildfires are commonplace in Canada, but the spread of fires in British Columbia this year has taken on an extraordinary degree of severity. The fires strained local resources and garnered federal government involvement and support from 13 countries. At least four firefighters have died in the line of duty.

More than 140,000 square kilometers of land in Canada, roughly the size of New York State, has been destroyed by the wildfires, with smoke reaching the east coast of the United States. Canadian government officials expect the fire season to continue into the fall given the widespread drought.

Some 2,000 kilometers to the north, wildfires out of control in Yellowknife, the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories, forced the evacuation of nearly all of its 20,000 residents last week. Following this massive evacuation, Yellowknife looks like a “ghost town”.

Local officials said the fires are currently not expected to reach the city limits this weekend, with rain and cooler temperatures helping to slow their spread.

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(AIT)