The province declared a state of emergency on Friday, to access temporary authoritative powers to tackle fire-related risks, as out-of-control fires ripped through interior British Columbia and partially shut down some sections of a key transit route between the Pacific coast and the rest of western Canada, and destroyed many properties.
"The current situation is grim," Premier Daniel Eby told reporters, saying some 35,000 people are under an evacuation order, and a further 30,000 were under evacuation alert.
Eby said the province is in dire need of shelter for evacuees and firefighters and ordered a ban on non-essential travel to make more temporary accommodation available.
B.C. had experienced strong winds and dry lightning in the past few days due to a cold mass of air interacting with hot air built-up in the sultry summer. That intensified existing forest fires and ignited new ones.
"We are still in some critically dry conditions, and are still expecting difficult days ahead," said Jerrad Schroeder, deputy fire centre manager at the Kamloops Fire Centre.
By Friday, an out-of-control fire in southern B.C. grew more than a hundredfold in 24 hours and forced more than 2,400 properties to be evacuated. The fire was centred around Kelowna, a city some 300km east of Vancouver, with a population of about 150,000.
The fires moved so rapidly on Friday that the number of people under evacuation order grew from 4500 to 15,000 in an hour, while another 20,000 were under evacuation alert. The province currently accounts for over a third of Canada's 1062 active fires.
The flames have already destroyed several structures in West Kelowna and authorities have been warning that the province could potentially face the worst couple of days of the fire season this year.
The TransCanada highway was closed near Chase, around 400km northeast of Vancouver, and between Hope, 150km east of Vancouver, and the village of Lytton.
TransCanada is the main east-west artery used by thousands of motorists and road freight heading to Port of Vancouver, the country's busiest.
Some 5000 customers are also without electricity in interior B.C. due to the fires, the main utility said.
Forest fires are not uncommon in Canada, but the spread of blazes and disruption underscore the severity of its worst wildfire season yet.
The fires have drained local resources and drawn in federal government assistance as well as support from 13 countries. At least four firefighters have died in the line of duty.
About 140,000 square km of land, roughly the size of New York state, have already burned, and government officials project the fire season could stretch into autumn due to widespread drought-like conditions in Canada.
