Canada's British Columbia government said on Saturday it will implement a restriction on non-essential travel to areas affected by wildfires amid its state of emergency.
David Eby, premier of the province, announced the order at a news conference on Saturday afternoon to free up accommodations for evacuees.
The government declared a provincial state of emergency as thousands were evacuated from their homes.
Under the order, the government is restricting tourist-related, non-essential travel to communities including Kelowna, Kamloops, Oliver, Osoyoos, Penticton and Vernon for anyone planning to stay in temporary accommodation.
The government will ensure that sufficient temporary accommodations are available to those evacuating or involved in fighting fires, Eby said, adding that there are about 35,000 people on evacuation orders across the province and another 30,000 on evacuation alert.
"We have an urgent need for more accommodation," he said.
Bowinn Ma, British Columbia’s minister of emergency management said that the situation in the popular boating and hiking destination was 'highly dynamic'.
“We cannot stress strongly enough how critical it is to follow evacuation orders when they are issued,” she said at an afternoon news conference.
“They are a matter of life and death not only for the people in those properties but also for the first responders who will often go back to try to implore people to leave," she added.
Gord Milson, the mayor of West Kelowna, described the mood in the town as “anxious” owing to the escalating wildfire, reported Al Jazeera.
“There’s just so much smoke it’s difficult to truly assess what’s occurring.
“But we were able to get further air support today which will help us fight the fires. But unfortunately, there were some structures lost last night and today. So, we are not out of it by any means," he further said.
The blazes in British Columbia ignited during the strong winds and dry lightening due to a cold mass of air interacting with hot air built-up in the humid summer.
Additionally, those conditions have further intensified existing forest fires and have also ignited new ones, Al Jazeera reported.
According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center, there are 1,039 active forest fires in Canada as of Saturday, around 380 of which are in British Columbia with more than 160 out of control.