British Columbia's desperate battle against hundreds of wildfires continues on multiple fronts Sunday, but no new evacuation orders have been added overnight to the thousands already in place across the province.
B.C. Premier David Eby said Saturday the situation was "grim" as he announced an emergency travel ban to fire zones to free up accommodation for 30,000 or more evacuees across the province, as well as fire crews.
Hundreds of firefighters there are engaged against fires that have been looming over Kelowna and West Kelowna, causing significant destruction of homes.Kelowna fire chief Travis Whiting said about 10,700 properties have been ordered to evacuate in the region, with a further 9,500 on evacuation alert.
District officials confirmed Saturday there were structural losses due to the explosive growth of the fire, which the BC Wildfire services said raced more than 20 kilometres in about half a day, and "there have been impacts to communities."Firefighting officials have said cooler and calmer conditions on Saturday helped crews battle the fires in the southern Interior, but they are expecting difficult days ahead as conditions warm up again Sunday.
Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma has said those accommodations are no longer available for anything other than essential travel so the rooms can be available for firefighters and evacuees.
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