More than 560 wildfires are burning in British Columbia


A state of emergency has been declared in British Columbia, as thousands of firefighters battle at least 566 wildfires burning across the Canadian province.
More than 3,000 residents have been evacuated from their homes, and 18,000 have been told to prepare to leave at a moment's notice. So far this year, there have been more than 1,800 fires in the province, scorching 939,000 acres. Firefighters have come from as far away as Mexico and New Zealand to help battle the blazes.
"We're going to throw everything we've got at these fires, but in a lot of cases, Mother Nature is going to be in the driver's seat," Kevin Skrepnek, British Columbia's chief fire information officer, told reporters Thursday. There isn't any rain in the forecast, and the smoke is causing a layer of haze across British Columbia and into Seattle. British Columbia's public safety minister, Mike Farnworth, told reporters the fire season is starting earlier, and "the bulk of the fires, what we have seen this year, have been lightning-caused."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
October 5 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
China vows first emissions cut, sidelining US
Speed Read The US, the world’s No. 2 emitter, did not attend the New York summit
-
At least 800 dead in Afghanistan earthquake
speed read A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit a mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan
-
Massive earthquake sends tsunami across Pacific
Speed Read Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan and Hawaii were told to evacuate to higher ground
-
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue chief resigns
Speed Read Ken Pagurek has left the organization, citing 'chaos'
-
Wildfires destroy historic Grand Canyon lodge
Speed Read Dozens of structures on the North Rim have succumbed to the Dragon Bravo Fire
-
Search for survivors continues after Texas floods
Speed Read A total of 82 people are confirmed dead, including 28 children
-
EPA is reportedly killing Energy Star program
speed read The program for energy-efficient home appliances has saved consumers billions in energy costs since its 1992 launch
-
US proposes eroding species protections
Speed Read The Trump administration wants to change the definition of 'harm' in the Environmental Protection Act to allow habitat damage