RAMPEN
Canada zet militairen in om natuurbranden in Brits Columbia aan te pakken
August 21, 2023 - Canada is sending the military to tackle fast-spreading wildfires in British Columbia, where more than 35,000 people have been put under evacuation orders.
British Columbia declared a state of emergency and imposed a ban on non-essential travel to free up accommodations for evacuees and firefighters.
Rapidly evolving wildfires threatened large parts of the scenic Okanagan Valley, including the city of Kelowna. The city of 150,000, was choked with thick smoke as it became the latest population centre hit by one of the many wildfires scorching Canada this summer.
Blazes in the neighbouring Northwest Territories have meanwhile prompted the evacuation of regional capital Yellowknife, leaving the remote city of around 20,000 largely a ghost town.