[1/3] British Columbia’s Premier David Eby holds a press conference following a tour of the Tselletkwe Lodge, which was created as a safe place for Indigenous evacuees and others who’ve been displaced due to the wildfires, in Kamloops, B.C., Canada, August 22, 2023. Chad Hipolito/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing Rights
Aug 22 (Reuters) – The government of British Columbia said it would largely lift travel restrictions to the province’s wildfire-hit interior on Tuesday, as rain and cooler weather helped hold back blazes across western Canada.
The restrictions barred non-essential travel to communities in the province’s interior including Kelowna, Vernon and Kamloops and were due to expire at midnight. The measure will remain in place for West Kelowna.
Canada is experiencing its worst wildfire season on record and in the past week more than 50,000 people, including the entire population of the Northwest Territories’ capital Yellowknife, have been forced to flee their homes.
Flames burned nearly 200 homes in Kelowna and West Kelowna, officials said, but conditions were slowly improving even though smoke continued to blanket the province.
British Columbia lifts most travel restrictions as Canada wildfires ease
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