Wildfires burning across the western U.S. and Canada have left some residents keeping a wary eye out for possible evacuation orders while others already forced to flee their homes waited to see what would be left on their return.

Western Canada Evacuations

In western Canada, over 20,000 people were forced to flee communities along Okanagan Lake in British Columbia over the weekend as a fast-moving wildfire destroyed homes and dozens had to be rescued by aircraft.

Laurie Allen, a resident of Nine Mile Falls, a community north of Spokane, fled her home with her husband, dog, and two kittens as a wildfire burned a short distance away. The roads into her neighborhood were still closed, but she said she’d learned from a friend that while covered in ashes, her house and others nearby were intact.

US Wildfires

In the U.S., crews in Washington have been fighting three wildfires that began burning in the Spokane area for over a week. The fires have damaged or destroyed about 920 structures.

Residents in the tiny rural town of Malden, located about 35 miles south of Spokane, had been urged to evacuate immediately. By Sunday, however, their evacuation level was downgraded to be ready to quickly leave if necessary.

In Utah, two helicopter pilots were killed when their aircraft crashed while they were fighting a wildfire on Friday morning in the Fishlake National Forest.

Original reporting: KTSA News/Talk (San Antonio) — read the source article.