Heat wave: more than a hundred fires ravage the American West

Flames ravage the hills around Kamloops, British Columbia.

via REUTERS - TWITTER / @LEXI_BELLSY

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Fires continue to rage in Canada and California after the heat wave that left hundreds dead in western North America.

Most in western Canada, British Columbia, where the number of fires increased further on Friday evening.

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There are now 168 fires in British Columbia, in western Canada, including a dozen considered worrying, even out of control by the authorities.

Most of these fires are located around Kamloops, in southern British Columbia.

More than 1,000 people have already had to leave their homes on

Thursday.

But residents of this province are urged to carefully follow the directives of the authorities who could carry out further evacuations, as new starts of fires are expected this weekend.

Why ?

First there is the heat, as explained by Canadian meteorologists, the thermometer reached 49.6 degrees in places this week.

Temperatures that add to an exceptional drought in recent weeks.

Scientists also note that in 24 hours, lightning struck the ground more than 100,000 times in British Columbia between Wednesday and Thursday, for example.

It was at the heart of this immense thunderstorm that the village of Lytton, 250 kilometers from Vancouver,

almost completely burned down

, downtown included.

Scientists also note that in 24 hours, lightning struck the ground more than 100,000 times in British Columbia between Wednesday and Thursday, for example.

The 250 residents had been evacuated Wednesday evening due to a fire that spread very quickly.

The deployed army

Experts estimate that this heat wave, which triggered heatwave alerts in areas where millions of people live and claimed nearly 500 lives in Canada and at least 16 in the United States, was caused by global warming climate. 

This heat wave is now moving eastward and the prairies of central Canada.

Reinforcements have been requested from the federal state: 350 Canadian army soldiers are to be deployed to help fight these fires.

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