Canada's British Columbia evacuates 10,000 as wildfires spread (updated)
10/07/2017 19:30
(Adds Engold's suspension of activity and changes attribution
of evacuee numbers)
July 10 (Reuters) - British Columbia on Monday evacuated
thousands more residents from the path of wildfires spreading
across the Western Canadian province amid expectations the
blazes will grow as forecasters predict more hot, dry weather
the week.
Federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told reporters
that more than 10,000 people had been forced from their homes,
up from about 7,000 the previous day.
Vancouver-based precious metals company Engold Mines Ltd
EGM.V , which has an office among the evacuated areas, said on
Monday it had suspended exploration in the region.
On Friday, 138 fires started as electrical storms and brisk
winds passed through the interior of the bone-dry province,
which has not seen significant rains for weeks.
British Columbia declared its first state of emergency since
2003, deploying some 1,600 personnel over the weekend to respond
to the fires.
Some 24,000 hectares (59,300 acres) were ravaged by
wildfires as of midday Sunday, according to official tallies,
but British Columbia's chief fire spokesman Kevin Skrepnek told
reporters he believed the extent of the devastation was
significantly higher.
British Columbia has announced C$100 million ($78 million)
in emergency funds. The Canadian Red Cross will hand out
stipends of C$600 to help those displaced by fires and other
money will be reserved for rebuilding.
Canada's military has agreed to supply airplanes and
helicopters and put personnel on standby, and other
jurisdictions have agreed to send some 260 personnel to help.
Survivors of the May 2016 Fort McMurray blaze, one of the
worst fires in Canadian history, organized a drive to send
water, fuel and other supplies to British Columbia.
That fire displaced 88,000 people and burned 590,000
hectares (1.46 million acres).
($1 = 1.2880 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Jim Finkle in Toronto and Ethan Lou in Calgary,
Alberta; Editing by James Dalgleish)
((jim.finkle@thomsonreuters.com; +1 416 687-7362; Reuters
Messaging: jim.finkle.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.us))
Keywords: CANADA WILDFIRE/