Canadian wildfires force thousands to flee homes

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Emergency crews struggled on Sunday to contain two wildfires that have forced thousands of residents of a western Canadian community to flee their homes.

The flames that spread quickly after they erupted on Saturday have destroyed at least nine buildings in residential areas in the hills along Okanagan Lake west of Kelowna, British Columbia, provincial fire officials said.

No injuries or deaths were reported.

An estimated 17,000 people have been ordered to evacuate and hundreds of other residents were warned to be on alert to leave their homes if the flames continue to spread in the tinder-dry conditions.

The largest of the fires had already burned at least 300 hectares (741 acres), and none of the blazes were under control, according to officials.

A Kelowna newspaper reported on Sunday that officials were concerned the blaze could cut a key electrical transmission line, which could force additional evacuations in an area of some 32,000 residents west of the city.

Police said the cause of fires was not known, but the provincial fire service said they did not believe them to be related.

The blazes cast an orange glow in the night sky with residents waking in the morning to a valley filled with smoke, according to a Reuters photographer in the area.

Officials said the winds pushed the flames across the dry landscape made it dangerous for ground crews to battle the blaze. Adding fuel to the fire were trees in the area that have been killed by an infestation of pine beetles.   Continued...