Canada wildfires: Border town evacuated as blazes cross into US
Thousands of people have been ordered to leave a Canadian border town due to an “out-of-control” wildfire.
The fire, known as Eagle Bluff, has triggered evacuation orders in Osoyoos, British Colombia, with officials estimating it is around 2,200 acres (3.44 square miles) in size on the Canadian side of the border.
It is believed to be around 2,000 acres (3.13 square miles) big on the US side of the border in Washington state.
“There are Initial Attack crew personnel, several single resources, two helicopters, structure protection personnel and
heavy equipment responding to the incident” in Osoyoos, the British Colombia Wildfire Service said.
“A total of 732 properties have been under evacuation order and 2,094 are under evacuation alerts. 132 people have sought emergency support,” regional district information officer Erick Thompson told a news briefing.
Around 6,700 people live in the evacuated town.
Temperatures in the town are expected to hit 33C (91F), with the average high for July around 30C (86F).
It comes after The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced a 25-year-old firefighter died battling the fires in the north-east of British Colombia.
The RCMP said he was working in a remote area when his quad bike rolled over a steep drop on a gravel road on Friday.
Eagle Bluff is the latest wildfire in the region, with officials saying more than 1,500 blazes have scorched British Colombia so far in 2023 – with more than 360 over the weekend alone, and 191 classed as “out-of-control”.
Map of the fires burning across British Colombia – with out-of-control fires marked with a red flame. Pic: BC Wildfire Service
Read more:
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There is a smattering of “out-of-control” fires across British Colombia, which are characterised as “a wildfire that is continuing to spread and is not responding to suppression efforts.”
Earlier in the year, smoke from other wildfires across Canada blew across New York, shrouding the city and causing breathing problems.
In Europe, fires last week burned across Greek islands and northern Africa, forcing dramatic evacuations from holiday resorts.
Rhodes bore the brunt of the flames, with many towns on the south of the island remaining damaged or inaccessible.
Experts say the increasing number of wildfires across the world are a direct result of climate change.
Anti-Trump protests took place across America on Saturday, with demonstrators decrying the administration’s immigration crackdown and mass firings at government agencies.
Events ranged from small local marches to a rally in front of the White House and a demonstration at a Massachusetts commemoration of the start of the Revolutionary War 250 years ago.
Thomas Bassford, 80, was at the battle reenactment with his two grandsons, as well as his partner and daughter.
He said: “This is a very perilous time in America for liberty. I wanted the boys to learn about the origins of this country and that sometimes we have to fight for freedom.”
At events across the country, people carried banners with slogans including “Trump fascist regime must go now!”, “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state,” and “Fight fiercely, Harvard, fight,” referencing the university’s recent refusal to hand over much of its control to the government.
Some signs name-checked Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorian citizen living in Maryland, who the Justice Department admits was mistakenly deported to his home country.
Read more: Donald Trump’s deportations explained
Pic: AP
People waved US flags, some of them held upside down to signal distress. In San Francisco, hundreds of people spelt out “Impeach & Remove” on a beach, also with an inverted US flag.
People walked through downtown Anchorage in Alaska with handmade signs listing reasons why they were demonstrating, including one that read: “No sign is BIG enough to list ALL of the reasons I’m here!”
Pic: AP
Protests also took place outside Tesla car dealerships against the role Elon Musk ahas played in downsizing the federal government as de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The protests come just two weeks after similar nationwide demonstrations.
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Organisers are opposing what they call Mr Trump’s civil rights violations and constitutional violations, including efforts to deport scores of immigrants and to scale back the federal government by firing thousands of government workers and effectively shuttering entire agencies.
The Trump administration, among other things, has moved to shutter Social Security Administration field offices, cut funding for government health programs and scale back protections for transgender people.
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