The Canadian province of British Columbia has declared a state of emergency amid increasing wildfires in the west of the country. 

There are currently over 1,000 individual active blazes across the country, with over half out of control as of Friday. 

In West Kelowna, 2,400 households have been told to evacuate immediately, with 4,800 families told to be ready to leave as the situation escalates. 

A person travels in a boat past people walking on the boardwalk as smoke from the McDougall Creek wildfire blankets the area on Okanagan Lake in Kelowna, British Columbia, Friday, 18/08/2023. Image: Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP/Alamy

Vets Without Borders member Charmaine Brett said the group have been evacuating animals as five cities have been evacuated in recent weeks. 

“We've just literally been moving animals to safety over and over and over again and then we've had to deploy our team to Maui to also respond to the fire there,” she said. 

Further north, 19,000 people left the city of Yellowknife in less than 48 hours. 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited those affected and said there are plans in place to ease the fires. 

“The Federal Government is there with significant military assets, coordinating air evacuations,” he said. 

“We're making sure that we're there to respond to all the needs of community now.” 

Firefighters wait to pass through a roadblock as the McDougall Creek wildfire burns on the mountainside Image: Darryl Dyck /The Canadian Press via AP/Alamy

Despite cooler temperatures and higher humidity aiding firefighters, emergency officials fear the weather conditions could change and propel the fire towards the city limits. 

There are also currently wildfires in the Hawaiian island of Maui and Tenerife in the Canary Islands.