Around 2,500 people were told to evacuate the community of Tumbler Ridge in northeastern British Columbia on Thursday. A video distributed by the British Columbia fire service showed deserted streets in Tumbler Ridge, while nearby forests were ablaze. Smoke rises from a wildfire in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, in this screen grab taken from a video, June 8, 2023. Temperatures in parts of British Columbia soared to more than 30 Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) this week, nearly 10 C above the seasonal average. Additional reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa, Nia Williams in British Columbia and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Stephen Coates, Jane Merriman, Chris Reese and Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: Darcy Dober, Maite Blanchette Vezina, Gerald Cheng, Hicham Ayoun, Ismail Shakil, Nia Williams, Allison Lampert, Stephen Coates, Jane Merriman, Chris Reese, Frances Kerry Organizations: OTTAWA, British Columbia, Canadian Interagency Forest Fire, Canadian Broadcasting Corp, BC Wildlife Service, REUTERS, Environment, Transport Canada, Thomson Locations: Canadian, British, Quebec, North, Canada, Tumbler, British Columbia, Dawson Creek, Ridge, Ontario, Environment Canada, Alberta, Ottawa, Toronto , New York, Washington, New York, Montreal