Thousands People Evacuated as Massive Wildfires in Canada

Indigenous communities have been particularly hard hit by the wildfires, which threaten important cultural activities such as hunting, fishing and gathering native plants.

Hundreds of kilometers (miles) south of Yellowknife, homes burned in West Kelowna, British Columbia, a city of about 38,000, the fire chief said.

Premier David Eby declared a state of emergency for the province due to the rapidly evolving fire situation. "We face a very challenging situation in the next few days," Eby said at news conference Friday. 

He said the decree would give authorities a number of legal tools, including the power to prevent people from traveling to dangerous areas and ensure access to accommodation for evacuees and heavy equipment to fight the fires.