Officials urge tourists to leave and free up hotel rooms

British Columbia Premier David Eby issued a provincial state of emergency after a significant number of homes were destroyed by wildfire in the West Kelowna area on Saturday. The emergency order issued all non-essential people to stay away from the region so that hotel rooms may be used by evacuees and emergency crews.

Premier Eby and Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Bowinn Ma also urged tourists who are already in the region to leave and free up accommodation. They have currently about 30,000 people on evacuation order and an additional 36,000 people on evacuation alert.