TORONTO – The fire runs. After forcing thousands of people to evacuate in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario, wildfires are also approaching residential areas in British Columbia, where there are 94 active fires – the data is from today, source BC Wildfire Service – including all types of fires: out of control, being held (under control, but still smoldering) and under control. Of these, 48 are still out of control.

Then, there are the “wildfires of note”, that it means a “highly visible” fire  that represent “a potential threat to public safety”: one of these is the district of Squamish, about 45 kilometres north of Vancouver, which has declared a state of local emergency due to an ongoing forest fire that represents, in fact, an “existing or imminent threat to people and property” in Brackendale, Tantalus Road and Skyridge, according to the order signed by Mayor Armand Hurford.

The district expanded its evacuation warning area Tuesday afternoon to include additional properties along Tantalus Road north of Dowad Drive and the Skyridge neighborhood along Dowad Drive, although no residents of the 100 properties on the alert have been ordered to evacuate at this time. The warning does warn residents to be prepared to leave on short notice.

“[A state of emergency] gives us access to more resources to deal with the current situation, and if the situation changes, it gives us more power and the ability to act more quickly,” Hurford said. The declaration can also allow the city to order evacuations, ban travel or access private property in certain situations, Hurford said, who also asked people in the area to stay off the highway, trails and not use drones in the area. A 20-person B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) firefighter crew and a four-person “initial attack” team are on site, ready to battle the blaze — the fire had grown from 5 hectares to 14.4 hectares by Tuesday evening, according to the BCWS update — but the blaze is on a steep slope with inaccessible areas, which presents a challenge for crews.

Meanwhile, the first aid from abroad arrives to Canada: the Australian Rural Fire Service of Southern Highlands – New South Wales (Australia) has announced that an Australian contingent of 96 firefighters and specialists has been sent here for five weeks. The service says that the dispatch is in response to a request from the Canadian Interagency Bushfire Centre.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote in a tweet on X that “when our mates need help, Australia is there. Thank you to our brave Aussie firefighters heading to help battle the Alberta wildfires in Canada. Stay safe and thank you for your service”.

Australia had already sent its firefighters to Canada, last year, to help fight the huge fire that caused the evacuation of Jasper National Park, as well as other fires earlier that month in British Columbia.

In the pic above, some of the Australian firefighters sent to Canada (photo from Twitter X – @AusHCCanada)