ukrainians dying on the front lines. thank you. officials have declared a state of emergency in british columbia during what they say is the worst wildfire season in the province s history. wildfires throughout the area have already prompted evacuation orders for approximately 15,000 homes. additional evacuation alerts tell residents to be prepared for 20,000 more homes. this comes as prime minister justin trudeau says the canadian government has deployed significant military assets to assist with evacuations and firefighting efforts. a majority of residents in yellowknife have already been evacuated due to threats from wildfires. paula newton joining me now from ottawa. paula, are officials gaining any ground in trying to battle these fires? reporter: you know, they are in many cases, but what they
out power. the wind. the next thing out power. the wind. the next thing they out power. the wind. the next thing they knew - out power. the wind. the next thing they knew there were embers next thing they knew there were embers blowing into town, blowing embers blowing into town, blowing into their homes, and they blowing into their homes, and they were blowing into their homes, and they were forced to flee. they are aware they were forced to flee. they are aware there they were forced to flee. they are aware there is they were forced to flee. they are aware there is nothing - they were forced to flee. tue: are aware there is nothing left for them there. they witnessed with their own eyes, their houses going up in flames, all of their possessions being lost as they fled. so yeah, it is very tough situation for people here, they don t know what they are going do next. are going do next. some harrowing are going do next. some harrowing stories - are going do
high wind. you can see it circling around. not sure where this helicopter has been making this bucket drop but this is the first time we have seen the chinook in action. the national guard has been the ground aiding in the search and rescue efforts and as you can see they re helping out with the firefighting efforts. jesse. dana perino has a question. i was wondering given what we know, this happened quickly yesterday and looked like it was far enough away people could take an assessment and decide whether to leave but do you think there could have been more warning the government could have provided to save their
water floating and on the seawall. they been sitting there since last night. we been pulling people out since last night, trying to save people s lives and we are not getting the help we need. this is a nationwide issue at this point. we need hem. a lot of help. we got to get people down here. it is the middle of the night in maui. you haven t even seen the extent. destruction. what can you tell us being on the ground? reporter: that s exactly right. the death toll information also coming in overnight. so many people here on island of maui will be waking up to the news that 36 of their community members, loved ones, friends have died. that fire in lahaina is one of three fires currently burning on the island here. firefighting efforts continue as well as search and rescue efforts.