Western Canada Declares Fire Emergency as Evacuations Climb

MONTREAL - Canada's western province of British Columbia declared a state of emergency Tuesday, with wildfires expected to grow even larger in the coming days due to high heat and winds.   

"We have reached a critical point," said provincial public safety minister Mike Farnworth. "Based on the advice of emergency management and wildfire officials, and my briefing last night on the worsening weather, I am declaring a provincial state of emergency."    The decision empowers officials to organize mass-scale evacuations and to provide emergency accommodation for evacuees, he added.  Some 5,700 people were under evacuation orders in the province Tuesday -- more than double the previous day's tally, as the threatened region grew in size.