Wildfire threat lingers in British Columbia; rains offer some respite

(Reuters) - Wildfires continued to disrupt communities in British Columbia on Tuesday, with as many as 349 fires burning across the Canadian province, according to government officials, despite rainfall over the past few days and cooler temperatures bringing some relief.

The Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia have witnessed hundreds of fires since July including a huge fire last week that devastated the picturesque tourist town of Jasper in the Canadian Rockies.

As of Tuesday morning, 1,350 people are under an evacuation order, primarily in the central Kootenay region, and an additional 2,800 people are under an evacuation alert, said Bowinn Ma, British Columbia's minister of emergency management and climate readiness.

However, the cooler weather and rainfall are helping firefighters to tame the spread, according to local officials, with several evacuation orders being downgraded to evacuation alerts.

"The wildfire situation can change quickly and we may see more fires as temperatures warm up again in the coming days," Ma said.

This year's surge in wildfire activity comes after Canada endured its worst-ever year for wildfires in 2023, when more than 15 million hectares (37 million acres) burned.

(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)