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Growing B.C. wildfire closes Highway 20 following evacuation alert

Click to play video: 'B.C. government warns wildfire and drought conditions will get worse'
B.C. government warns wildfire and drought conditions will get worse
The B.C. government is warning the worst could still be ahead in what has already become a record-breaking season for wildfires and drought. Richard Zussman reports – Jul 18, 2023

DriveBC says Highway 20 east of Bella Coola is closed in both directions due to a wildfire that has grown to more than 25 square kilometres in size.

The BC Wildfire Service says fire behaviour for the Young Creek wildfire, about 35 kilometres west of Anahim Lake, has increased due to high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds.

This comes after the Cariboo Regional District issued an evacuation order for 43 square kilometres near the community of Anahim Lake on Friday and residents were told to leave immediately using the highway.

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Click to play video: 'The effects of wildfire smoke on your health'
The effects of wildfire smoke on your health

More than 100 international firefighters joined BC Wildfire Service members who are battling about 460 active blazes burning across the province.

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The Canadian Armed Forces, which also deployed members earlier this week to help fight fires, shared a photo on social media showing military members using axes to “break up hot spots” and chop charred and still-smouldering brush near Vanderhoof, B.C.

BC Wildfire Service officials have forecast an increase in fires in southern B.C. as cooler temperatures and rain are forecast for the province’s north, where some of the largest fires are burning. But it says hot, dry weather persists in Cranbrook, Kamloops, the Okanagan, Vancouver Island and B.C. Lower Mainland.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2023.

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