Plea for Boats to Rescue People in Water Amid Fires in Canada

Extreme wildfires in Canada have reportedly forced people to jump into a lake as flames engulf the surrounding land.

Canada is currently enduring its worst wildfire season on record, with fires raging throughout the east and west of the vast country. In British Columbia, mass evacuations have been ordered in and around Kelowna, a city straddling both sides of the Okanagan Lake. A state of emergency has been declared in the area, which has a population of almost 150,000.

Reports of people fleeing the fires were posted on social media. According to posts in the Kelowna Alert Facebook group, pleas have been made for boats to rescue people trapped in Okanagan Lake after fleeing the shore from Trader's Cove, close to Kelowna. Residents of the area posting in the group said roads in the area have been rendered impassable due to the fires.

Chris Neumann, a coordinator for British Columbia emergency livestock management, told local news outlet KelownaNow that he received requests for help once the fire had made the road impassable. "At that point, the people that were left there were only left with the water as an exit route," he said.

Newsweek has been unable to verify whether people are still trapped in the lake and reached out to Central Okanagan Emergency Operations for comment. The latest update from the EOC says there is still a live evacuation order and to "leave the area immediately."

The incident comes shortly after fires devastated Hawaii last week, where similar incidents of people fleeing into water took place. The U.S. Coast Guard in Hawaii confirmed that a 45-foot response boat had rescued 12 people from the waters off Lahaina, Maui, while the fires decimated the historic town.

Wildfires are common in Canada's western provinces, but fires are now stretching across the breadth of the country. Accuweather has reported the fires, which first sparked in April, have burned 34 million acres so far this year, an area greater in size than the state of Louisiana. The previous record was 18 million acres, registered in 1995.

According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, there are 1050 active fires as of Friday morning, with 671 remaining out of control. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has convened the Incident Response Group to discuss the ongoing situation.

Good samaritans have been coming to the community's aid during this time of crisis. One man posted on the Facebook group Kelowna Alert: "I just fueled up my truck. If you need help getting out let me know. Empty truck. Trailer hitch. Anything. Standing by if anyone needs a hand. Will be available until further notice. Do not hesitate to contact me."