The Canadian province of British Columbia has declared a state of emergency due to wildfires.

– Over the past 24 hours, the situation has evolved rapidly and we find ourselves in an extremely difficult situation in the coming days, authorities indicate in a press release.

Wildfires are ravaging the area around Okanogan Lake, particularly in the hills and mountains above the British Columbia town of West Kelowna of 36,000 people, where several buildings have been destroyed.

British Columbia is located in western Canada.

On Saturday, around 30,000 people in the province were ordered to evacuate following the wildfire.

– The situation and numbers are constantly changing, but at present there are around 30,000 people who have been ordered to evacuate. In addition, 36,000 people have been informed to be ready to evacuate at short notice, said Bowinn Ma, the province’s minister in charge of civil protection.

Evacuations were also carried out in Kelowna, a British Columbia city northwest of Vancouver with a population of 150,000.

Forest fires are also spreading in the province of the Northwest Territories, further north, where the capital Yellowknife is being evacuated, writes NTB.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau writes on Twitter/X that thousands of people in the Yellowknife region of the Northwest Territories have had to evacuate their homes due to the terrible forest fires raging.

– This is not an easy time for people. I made it known that we were there for them and that we will continue to be there in the days to come, the press release said.

– We continue to do everything we can and provide resources for firefighting, coordination and air transport, he writes again.