<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/09/canada-british-columbia-government-wildfires>
"Canada’s federal government has announced it will provide urgent assistance to
British Columbia after an onslaught of unprecedented fast-moving wildfires that
killed one person and forced about 22,000 people to flee their homes in frantic
evacuations.
A total of 102 wildfires were raging across the province on Sunday, of which
nearly half were categorised as “out of control”, according to the BC Wildfire
Service. Of those fires, 78 ignited during the past week.
The entire community of Summerland, about 30 miles (48km) south-west of the
city of Kelowna and home to about 12,000 people, was evacuated overnight on
Saturday, along with a further 8,000 people around nearby Peachland. About
10,000 others have been told to prepare to evacuate at a moment’s notice.
Anette Boulet was among residents who fled Summerland along Okanagan Lake in
British Columbia. As she and her family left around 4.30am Saturday, their home
was shrouded in smoke.
“You couldn’t see barely. It was just dark, and the ridge, the ridge of fire
just coming towards you,” said Boulet, who evacuated to a centre in Penticton.
“There’s no words to express it, the fear.”
In a social media post on Sunday, Eleanor Olszewski, Canada’s minister of
emergency management and community resilience, said she had “approved a request
for federal assistance from British Columbia to provide shelter and
accommodations for people who have been forced to leave their homes”.
“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,” she said."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
