Fires cause new evacuations in British Columbia

AFP

Sunday, 16 July 2017 13:56

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Sunday, 16 July 2017 13:56

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Thousands of people had to be evacuated during the weekend in British Columbia, where strong winds have fanned the fires that ravage the center of the province for more than a week.

The advancing flames forced the authorities to take new measures of evacuation, the main one for the city of Williams Lake, with some 11 000 inhabitants.

Evacuation orders were announced Saturday evening, relate to some 24 000 people in the region, and the authorities estimate that some 60% have already left their homes, reports on Sunday, the chain of public CBC.

The evacuees are welcomed in the city of Kamloops, south of Williams Lake.

Before the new measures of evacuation, the authorities had been to more than 17,000 the number of people evicted from their homes, since the province has declared a state of emergency on 7 July, because of the many fires that are reported because of the heat and the time sec.

About 161 outbreaks of fire were still active on Sunday, said a spokesman for the fire service of British Columbia, Navi Saini.