Canada Wildfires: Thousands On Evacuation Standby Near Vancouver As Blazes Worsen
A state of emergency has been declared in Squamish, British Columbia, just 64 kilometres (40 miles) north of Vancouver, a city where the greater metropolitan area population exceeds three million.
British Columbia's emergency management department warned late Tuesday that some residents of the Squamish district 'must be ready to leave on short notice."
Max Whittenburg, a 19-year-old Squamish resident, told AFP he was 'in shock" to see the fire encroach so close to the community.
'I've never seen a fire in Squamish, at all, ever," the skateboard coach said.
'We've already prepared most of the stuff in our house just in case we do have to evacuate," he added. 'We'll be ready to go."
Luke Procter, also 19, said he was staying up late and rising early to prepare, including by helping his father 'hook up the trailer to our jeep just in case we need to go."
Marc-Andre Parisien, a researcher at the Canadian Forest Service, said fires near the coast like the one threatening Squamish are particularly worrying because 'these are areas that did not traditionally burn."
More than 220 active fires were burning across the country Tuesday, with half of them considered out of control.
More than 3.3 million hectares (12,700 square miles) have already been consumed by flames — an area equivalent to the country of Belgium.
Smoke from Canadian fires has reached Europe after drifting across the Atlantic Ocean.
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Time of India
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