Wildfires spread in Canada's British Columbia as Quebec stabilizes

9/6/2023 18:22

        Wildfires spread in the western Canadian province of British Columbia on Friday, while hundreds of fires continued to burn on the other side of the country in Quebec, sending wildfire smoke billowing across North American cities.
        
        Around 2,500 people were told to evacuate the community of Tumbler Ridge in northeastern British Columbia on Thursday afternoon.
        
        Officials also expanded evacuation orders for the Donnie Creek fire, the second-largest recorded in the province, in the Peace River region.
        
        Temperatures in parts of British Columbia soared to more than 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) this week, nearly 10 degrees above the seasonal average. While rain is expected over the weekend there is a risk of lightning strikes that could spark more fires.
        
        In neighboring Alberta more than 3,500 people remain under evacuation orders and heat warnings were in effect over much of the central part of the province.