Wildfire prompts evacuation alert in metro Vancouver

TORONTO, Aug 6 - A wildfire prompted an evacuation alert on Wednesday about 30 kilometers (18.64 miles) from Vancouver, one of Canada's largest metropolitan areas, as blazes in Western Canada continued to spread due to dry and hot weather.

About 35 properties in the village of Anmore were asked to be prepared to evacuate on Wednesday, packing essentials such as government IDs and medications. "We’re a small team, but we will be doing our best to keep our residents updated," Anmore's acting mayor Doug Richardson told residents.

The fire in the Belcarra Park region, located near Sugar Mountain Trail is estimated at about 1.5 hectares, and is now nearly contained, Metro Vancouver said.

"At this time, the fire is not expected to spread beyond the current containment lines. Crews will remain on site throughout the day to extinguish hotspots and ensure the fire is fully secured," Metro Vancouver said.

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which coordinates national and international wildland fire resources, said it had 40 personnel from New Zealand and Australia and 100 Mexican personnel in BC. Around 200 Mexican personnel will be mobilized in the next few days in BC, a spokesperson said.

The BC Wildfire Service said hot and dry conditions are expected in most of British Columbia, increasing the potential for fire activity. Those conditions, along with light winds, may allow smoke to linger and become more visible in southern parts of the province, the agency said.

A dry and hot summer has led to over 4,500 fires in Canada, which houses some of the world's densest forests, burning about 3.9 million hectares of land. As of Wednesday, firefighters were battling 129 out-of-control wildfires in BC, Ontario and other provinces. REUTERS