Canada is sending the military to tackle fast-spreading wildfires in British Columbia as the western province deals with flames that have led to evacuation orders for more than 35,000 people.
British Columbia declared a state of emergency and imposed a ban on non-essential travel to free up accommodation for evacuees and firefighters, and urged drone operators and others capturing images of the fires to stay clear of rescue workers.
In some cities in British Columbia, the air quality index (AQI), which measures major pollutants including particulate matter produced by fires, was above 350, a "hazardous" level, IQAir, a real-time air quality information platform showed on Sunday.
The city of West Kelowna's fire chief Jason Brolund said he saw some hope after battling "epic" blazes for the past four days. He said conditions have improved, helping firefighters to put "boots on the ground" and dump water on flames that threatened the city of 150,000.
"We are finally feeling like we are moving forward rather than moving backwards, and that's a great feeling," Brolund told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a tweet that the federal government will offer support from the military "to help with evacuations, staging", and other logistical tasks in response to a request from the British Columbia government.
Forest fires are not uncommon in Canada but the spread of blazes and disruptions underscore the severity of its worst wildfire season yet, which some experts have blamed on climate change.
Just across the border in the US state of Washington, firefighters battled two major blazes, the Gray Fire and the Oregon Road Fire, which combined had blackened more than 20,000 acres of forest and destroyed more than 100 structures.
In Canada, government officials urged residents in evacuation order zones to leave immediately to save their lives and prevent firefighters from dying trying to rescue them.
Officials have not given any estimates of the total number of buildings destroyed. Videos and photos on social media showed destroyed structures and vehicles, and huge flames consuming trees.
The fires have drained local resources and drawn in federal government assistance as well as support from 13 countries. At least four firefighters have died.
About 140,000sq km of land, roughly the size of the state of New York, have been scorched nationwide, with smoky haze extending as far as the US east coast. Government officials project that the fire season could stretch into autumn because of widespread drought-like conditions.
