Nearly 400 wildfires raging in Canada's British Columbia (BC) province have prompted the evacuation of at least 30,000 households, while another 36,000 are currently under an evacuation alert, the media reported on Monday.
In a statement late Sunday, the provincial Emergency Managaement Minister Bowinn Ma said officials "cannot stress strongly enough how critical it is to follow evacuation orders", reports the BBC.
"They are a matter of life and death not only for the people in those properties, but also for the first responders who will often go back to try to implore people to leave," the Minister was quoted as saying.
BC Premier David Eby put the total number of people ordered to leave at 35,000, with 30,000 told to be prepared to evacuate.
The grim development comes after two massive fires in the province's Shuswap region merged overnight, destroying houses and other buildings.
Meanwhile, authorities have also restricted travel to the waterside city of Kelowna and smoke from nearby fires hangs over Lake Okanagan.
Fires have also charred homes in West Kelowna, a nearby city of 36,000.
The travel restriction around Kelowna is designed to ensure enough accommodation for evacuees and emergency workers.
It also applies to the towns of Kamloops, Oliver, Penticton and Vernon and Osoyoos.
Hundreds of miles north, a huge fire continues to edge towards the city of Yellowknife, the capital of Northwest Territories, the BBC reported.
An official deadline to evacuate the city lapsed on August 18.
About 19,000 of the city's 20,000 inhabitants had evacuated, according to officials.
Canada is witnessing its worst wildfire season on record, with at least 1,000 fires raging across the country, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).
Although no deaths have been reported in the latest fires, at least four firefighters have lost their lives during this record-breaking season.
Death toll rises to 1,644 following powerful earthquake in Myanmar
A total of 1,644 people died and 3,408 were injured, and 139 remained missing due to the powerful earthquake in Myanmar, said the Information Team of the State Administration Council on Saturday.
3.8-magnitude earthquake shakes Manipur, no casualties reported
A mild quake, measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale, shook Manipur’s Noney district and adjoining areas on Saturday, officials said.
Over 510 pigs killed due to African Swine Fever in Mizoram
An official from Mizoram's Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department (AHVD) said that over 510 pigs died due to the ASF during the past two weeks in 13 villages and localities in two Mizoram districts -- Lawngtlai and Mamit.
India's per capita CO2 emissions among lowest in world as green energy capacity surges
India, which has emerged as the world’s 5th largest economy, also stands out as a country with one of the lowest per capita carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions globally as it balances growth with sustainability and switches to renewables at a rapid pace.
Amazing news, says PM Modi as MP earns another stripe for tiger conservation
Overwhelmed by another stripe which Madhya Pradesh earned the other day for its Madhav National Park, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on social media about the new recognition of the park as the state's ninth tiger reserve - a true sanctuary for these majestic creatures for many years.
Chamoli avalanche: Death toll climbs to 7; rescue ops for one remaining worker underway
The death toll in the Chamoli avalanche in Uttarakhand's Mana region has reached seven, with the rescue officials pulling out three more bodies on Sunday. Meanwhile, the search operation for one missing worker is still ongoing.
U'khand avalanche: 4 killed, 50 rescued; CM Dhami oversees rescue ops
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Dhami received latest updates on the rescue operations from Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman and District Magistrate of Chamoli, Sandeep Tiwari, late in the evening.
Chamoli avalanche: 14 more workers rescued, search for remaining men continues
Rescue teams intensified their efforts on Saturday as they successfully pulled out 14 more workers trapped under heavy snow after a massive avalanche struck a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp near Mana village in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Friday morning.