With nearly 300 wildfires burning in western British Columbia, the province’s high temperature last month hit a record high.

British Columbia (BC), Canada, has declared a state of emergency, as wildfires have forced hundreds of people to leave their homes, and it may worsen in the next few days.

according to Provincial Wildfire Tracker, On Tuesday afternoon, there were 299 fires burning in BC, 18 of which were triggered in the previous two days.

BC Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said at a press conference that there are more than 3,180 firefighters and other workers fighting fires across the province.

He said more evacuations could be ordered because the weather forecast in the next few days may fuel the fire. “We have reached a tipping point,” Farnworth told reporters.

“According to the recommendations of emergency management and wildfire officials, and my briefing on the worsening weather last night, I declared a state of emergency for the whole province. This will resolve the possibility of large-scale evacuation and provide our government with what it needs to protect the evacuees. Means of accommodation space.”

The British Columbia government stated in a statement that the state of emergency will last at least 14 days and can be extended. So far, 40 evacuation orders have been issued, affecting approximately 5,724 people, and 69 evacuation warnings have been issued—based on these alerts, residents are told to leave their homes at any time—affecting more than 32,000 people.

BC is one of several provinces in western Canada Record temperature last month As a so-called “hot dome” trapped in the hot air above the area.

At that time, several wildfires were triggered in extremely dry conditions and a wave of lightning strikes. A fast-moving fire engulfed the entire community and killed two residents. Just after breaking the country’s record for the highest high temperature in history, the village of Lytton in BC was burned down.

Officials say heat wave Caused hundreds of deaths Only in British Columbia, especially vulnerable elderly people.

Earlier this month, the Canadian government Announced new measures Designed to prevent wildfires during extreme heat.

In a statement on July 11, the Federal Department of Transportation stated that when the temperature exceeds 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), railway operators need to reduce train speeds and ensure that trains do not use combustible materials that could cause fires. .

Brian Wiens, managing director of the research consortium Canada Wildfire, told Al Jazeera this month, “It’s not uncommon for British Columbia to experience very, very hot, dry weather from late July to August, especially In Alberta.”

However, Vins said the June heat wave was “stronger and earlier” than before.

He also stated that the temperature staying above what is considered a typical range for a long period of time is “a very strong sign that we have seen evidence of climate change here.”

Many experts have Pointing to climate change As a factor leading to the deterioration of extreme weather events such as wildfires, heat waves and tropical storms.

The western United States is also experiencing a surge in wildfires, deploying hundreds of firefighters to try to obtain Large-scale fire in Oregon with California Under control.

Wildfires in the western United States and Canada are sending heavy smoke eastward, causing air quality to deteriorate and causing colorful sunsets in some places.

According to data from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho, as of Tuesday, more than 80 large-scale wildfires in 13 western states had destroyed nearly 1.3 million acres (526,090 hectares), an area less than that of the state of Laware. Big.