Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that the country's armed forces will be deployed to tackle the ravaging wildfires in British Columbia. The Canadian PM took to X (formerly Twitter) to confirm the deployment as the western province, as per Reuters, deals with flames that have led to evacuation orders for more than 35,000 people.
"We’ve received and approved British Columbia’s request for federal assistance. We’re deploying @CanadianForces assets and providing resources to help with evacuations, staging, and other logistical tasks. We’ll continue to be here with whatever support is needed," the PM tweeted.
Defence Miniter Bill Blair earlier informed that two Canadian forces' evacuation flights departed for Yellowknife. He also tweeted on Monday that around 400 members of Canadian forces are assisting in buildings firebreaks around Hay River and Yellowknife to keep communities safe.
Notably, British Columbia declared a state of emergency imposing a ban on non-essential travel to free up accommodations for evacuees and firefighters, Reuters stated in a report. The state also urged drone operators and others capturing images of the fires to stay clear of rescue workers.
West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund hinted at some positive developments after battling "epic" fires for the past four days. As per Reuters, Brolund said that conditions have improved.
"Things are looking better. We are finally feeling like we are moving forward rather than moving backwards, and that's a great feeling," Brolund told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp, quoted Reuters.
It is important to note that forest fires are not uncommon in Canada, but the intensity of the same has been only increasing recently, for which experts blame climate change.
Several fires, reported Reuters, fuelled by severe drought, have been reported closer to the US border and in the US Pacific Northwest.
In Washington state, firefighters battled two major blazes, the Gray Fire and the Oregon Road Fire, which together destroyed over 20,000 acres of forest and more than 100 structures. Reuters added that government officials in Canada have urged residents in evacuation order zones to leave immediately to save their lives.
So far, the report added, there has been no official confirmation on any estimates of the total number of buildings destroyed.
According to Reuters, since 2009, Canada has been spending more on fighting and containing wildfires than on maintaining its firefighting personnel and program.