Wildfires rage in British Columbia, Canada

Reuters - Haze engulfed parts of Canada Tuesday (August 14) and Wednesday as British Columbia endured raging wildfires forcing more than 3,000 to evacuate their homes. A state of emergency was declared by the provincial government for two weeks as 566 wildfires burned, threatening 1,521 homes, authorities said. A further 18,700 are under evacuation alerts as more than 3,300 firefighters battle various blazes in the region. Video obtained by Reuters shows orange haze engulfing towns and cities in Alberta and British Columbia. "It's a lot like the movie Mad Max, honestly," said Mike Carr, who took a video of haze over Prince George, British Columbia. "People outside are wearing dust masks." Air quality is expected to be poor in neighbouring Alberta for the rest of the week, said Environment Canada, as smoke blanketed every region in the province. More than 377,000 hectares of forest - an area greater than that of Rhode Island - have been burnt due to the wildfires in British Columbia since April this year, provincial authorities said.