Photo courtesy La Ronge Fire Department

Incoming cooler weather conditions are offering some reprieve after four days of wildfire evacuations in British Columbia, but officials warm the battle isn’t over, and there will be tough days ahead.

Over 35,000 people have had to leave their homes behind, and 140,000 square kilometers of land have been burned so far. The Okanagan region got the worst of it, and officials have restricted non-essential travel to Kelowna and surrounding areas. The federal government has agreed to deploy the military to aid with further evacuations.

BC Premier David Eby announced a province-wide state of emergency on Friday evening; however, the fires are showing some signs of easing as weather conditions are expected to cool down Monday and Tuesday.

Over 2,000 kms north, almost all of Yellowknife’s 20,000 residents have evacuated, turning the city into an apocalyptic ghost town. Four-hundred armed forces personnel are helping the Northwest Territories government deal with the fire. Over the weekend, fires were burning just 15 kms from the city’s boundaries.