British Columbia declared a province-wide state of emergency Wednesday as Canada's military joined firefighters in trying to douse 556 wildfires burning across the craggy region.

The province's public safety minister, Mike Farnworth, said the measure -- which allows for officials to take "every action necessary" to protect the public -- would be in effect for 14 days.

It is only the second time in more than a decade that it has been used, after a record fire season last year that blackened vast tracts of forest and prompted record numbers of residents to evacuate.

"Public safety is always our first priority and, as wildfire activity is expected to increase, this is a progressive step in our wildfire response to make sure British Columbia has access to any and all resources necessary," Farnworth said in a statement.

As of Tuesday, there were 566 wildfires burning in British Columbia, and 77 evacuation orders or alerts affecting nearly 22,000 people and 11,000 properties.

Cities from Vancouver on the Pacific coast to Winnipeg in the Prairies region about 2,300 kilometers (1,400 miles) to the east were blanketed with smoke from the fires.

Nearly 3,400 firefighters, including from Australia, Mexico and New Zealand, are battling the flames.

On Monday, the British Columbia government formally requested help from the federal government, which responded by sending 200 troops as well as military aircraft to help contain and "mop up" the wildfires.

"We are challenged with the number of fires in the province," British Columbia Forests Minister Doug Donaldson told public broadcaster CBC.

"It's across the entire province unlike last year where it was concentrated," he explained.

Across Canada, hot and dry weather has fueled a number of wildfires. In July, an indigenous man died while helping to suppress forest fires in Ontario province.

Related Links
Forest and Wild Fires - News, Science and Technology

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Carbon Monoxide from California Wildfires Drifts East
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 15, 2018
California is being plagued by massive wildfires, and the effects on air quality from those fires can extend far beyond the state's borders. In addition to ash and smoke, fires release carbon monoxide into the atmosphere. Carbon monoxide is a pollutant that can persist in the atmosphere for about a month and can be transported great distances. New images made with data acquired by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on NASA's Aqua satellite show the high concentrations of carbon monoxide emitt ... read more