Wildfires continue raging across B.C., Northwest Territories

As Metro Vancouver is being warned about the risk of particulates in the air from wildfire smoke, those battling blazes in the central Okanagan say the smoke is helping their cause.

The Metro Vancouver Regional District remains under an air quality advisory as a result of smoke from hundreds of wildfires burning across the province.

An estimated 30,000 people are under evacuation orders in the province because the blazes, including the 110-square-kilometre McDougall Creek fire burning on both sides of Lake Okanagan.

Kelowna Fire Chief Travis Whiting told a press conference that while the amount of smoke in the air has been “tough” it is reducing the sun’s intensity, which helps in the fight.

More soldiers deployed to N.W.T for wildfire fight

Defence Minister Bill Blair says another company of soldiers is being deployed to Hay River in the Northwest Territories, which has been evacuated for more than a week due to a threatening wildfire nearby.

Blair announced the deployment to the town located on the south shore of Great Slave Lake in a tweet yesterday afternoon, saying it will bring the number of soldiers who are helping the territory around Hay River and Yellowknife to around 400.

N.W.T officials say a fire that’s forced the evacuation of Yellowknife didn’t grow much yesterday and still remains about 15 kilometres away from the capital, but the fight is expected to become more difficult as temperatures rise this week.

Premier Caroline Cochrane says she has spoken with several federal ministers, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, about how the territory needs financial assistance to deal with the fires and help evacuees.