00:00 A paradise in North America. But in the past few days parts of Canada's Lake Okanagan have
00:06 become an inferno.
00:09 Even some boats weren't spared the flames as huge plumes of smoke carried embers from
00:14 one bank to the other.
00:17 This man tried to save what he still could. He was luckier than his neighbours, whose
00:22 homes were devoured by the blaze.
00:24 The fire chief for the area called the situation unprecedented and said his department had
00:29 faced some of their most difficult days ever. But that milder conditions on Sunday had allowed
00:34 them to make some progress.
00:36 We are finally feeling like we're moving forward rather than we're moving backwards and that's
00:42 a great feeling for all of us to have.
00:46 But they're not out of the woods yet. At night firefighters are unable to use helicopters
00:52 and are forced to look on as the flames ravage the ancient forest.
00:57 As the fires encircled some neighbourhoods of Kelowna, some 35,000 people were evacuated
01:02 across the province, while 30,000 more have been told to be prepared to leave.
01:08 Authorities have also ordered tourists to avoid the whole region of Kelowna so as not
01:13 to block roads.
01:14 Canada is experiencing its worst ever wildfire season. An area roughly the size of Greece
01:20 has already burned over the last four months, almost twice the area of the previous record.
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