British Columbia wildfires intensify, evacuation orders double

Cars pass a line of vehicles waiting for fuel, after an evacuation order was declared due to the proximity of a wildfire in Yellowknife, in Fort Providence, Northwest Territories, Canada August 17, 2023. REUTERS/Pat Kane

KELOWNA, British Columbia (Reuters) -Forest fires in Canada's western province of British Columbia intensified on Saturday, with the number of people under evacuation orders doubling from a day earlier, as authorities warned of difficult days ahead.

The province declared a state of emergency on Friday to access temporary authoritative powers to tackle fire-related risks, as out-of-control fires ripped through interior British Columbia, partially shutting some sections of a key highway between the Pacific coast and the rest of western Canada, and destroying many properties.