To fight against a hundred fires that continue to ravage the province of British Columbia, the Canadian army is mobilizing. Canadian forces “Will provide air support to help areas affected by forest fires until July 19”, tweeted Public Safety Minister Bill Blair on Sunday, July 4, noting that the federal government had approved a request for the province’s assistance in combating the “Devastating forest fires”.
Some 184 fires, often caused by lightning, were still active in British Columbia on Sunday, 41 of which have broken out in the past two days, according to the province’s fire department dashboard.
About twenty evacuation orders or evacuation alerts – calling on residents to be ready to leave quickly – were in effect in the province.
The army will help “Provide air transportation of personnel, supplies and equipment to and from areas affected by the fires in British Columbia” and will help “Support an evacuation in an emergency situation if necessary”, said public security in a statement.
Investigators at Lytton
At least two people were killed in the blaze in the flame-ravaged small town of Lytton, the first known victims of the wildfires.
Investigators were finally able to go on site, the forensic service of the province announced on Saturday evening that the remains of two people had been found, indicating that the findings made on the spot seemed to confirm the statements of a member of their family. .
Lytton, who has become the symbol of the ongoing crisis after breaking the historic record for heat in Canada with 49.6 degrees Celsius, was 90% destroyed by the fire.
The disaster began on Wednesday, but authorities waited to ensure that there was no more danger, including toxic fumes, to send a team to the scene on Saturday.