Firefighters from across Canada are descending on British Columbia as the province struggles to get the upper hand on dozens of wildfires blazing throughout the province.
Crews from central and eastern Canada are heading to B.C. this weekend where more than 150 fires are burning; 17 are considered major and about 10 of them are threatening homes. The first group of firefighters landed in Edmonton Saturday, and were travelling to the fires near the Alberta/B.C. provincial border.
"In the east, we don't have any fires going on right now so we can offer up our assistance," said Charles Beaulieu, a wildfire prevention officer from New Brunswick.
Approximately 200 firefighters from outside the province will join more than 1,500 firefighters already working in B.C.
The majority of out-of-province firefighters are coming from Ontario, while 40 are coming from Quebec and 20 each from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
One of the wildfires has prompted a state of emergency in West Kelowna, where about 2,500 residents are under an evacuation order and another 150 homes are on evacuation alert.
The Smith Creek fire is about 250 hectares, according to B.C. Wildfire Management, and about 30 per cent contained as of Saturday afternoon.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark, who represents the area, spent Friday visiting residents who have been forced from their homes.
She said the $63 million the province allotted for fighting wildfires in the last budget has already been exhausted, noting that B.C. is spending between $2-5 million per day battling the blazes.
“The thing people should know is we are not going to stop spending money because it’s expensive,” she said. “We are going to do everything we can to protect people and property around the province.”
But there was some good news in other parts of the province Saturday. Cooler weather and light rain prompted officials to downgrade danger ratings in some parts of B.C.
Much of the northern and central areas have lowered their ratings to low or moderate, said Navi Saini of the B.C. Wildfire Management Branch.
Saini said many areas in southern B.C. still have ratings of high to extreme, meaning new fires can start easily and spread quickly.
Meanwhile, an air quality statement from Environment Canada remains in effect for 17 communities in B.C.
With files from CTV News’ Katie Simpson and The Canadian Press
