British Columbia to get federal assistance as wildfire forces evacuations

TORONTO, Aug 9 - The Canadian federal government said on Sunday it would assist British Columbia as raging wildfires forced thousands of people to evacuate by providing shelter and accommodation for residents displaced in regions around Summerland and Peachland.

The Bald Range wildfire, which prompted British Columbia to declare a provincial state of emergency and evacuate about 18,000 people, had spread to more than 10,300 hectares by Saturday night as firefighters continued to battle the blaze.

"Last night, I approved a request for Federal Assistance from British Columbia to provide shelter and accommodations for people who have been forced to leave their homes due to wildfires across the province," Eleanor Olszewski, Canada's minister of emergency management and community resilience, said in a social media post.

"I have tasked federal officials, led by the Government Operations Centre at Public Safety Canada, to work with the province to ensure support reaches those who need it most," the minister said.

Over the past 24 hours, southern British Columbia continued to see fires spreading due to hot and dry weather, the province's Wildfire Service said.

Poor visibility and increasing fires created new challenges to aviation and the ground crew response, it said.

Ten helicopters and a night vision helicopter were operating, but were hindered by thick smoke, turbulence and large fires.

The province had 34 personnel from Australia, five from New Zealand, and 214 from Mexico supporting hundreds of provincial firefighters and expects additional international resources to arrive over the coming days, it said. REUTERS