Canadian province rejects Alberta's request for help to fight fire

The Canadian province of British Columbia on Wednesday turned down a request for help from neighboring Alberta to send firefighters to help battle the Fort McMurray blaze.

Alberta is struggling with one of the worst wildfires in its history. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the burning Fort McMurray city in the northeast as the wildfire, which started Sunday, spread to the oil sands city quickly, burning down thousands of residential houses and business buildings.

Ryan Turcot, information officer with the British Columbia Wildfire Service, said that since the province has also been exposed to high-level fire activities, the agency turned down the request for help from Alberta.

"Our personnel are currently fully engaged across the province," said Turcot.

British Columbia Environment Canada meteorologist Jennifer Hay said the same day that the past weekend was hot and dry for most of the province's interior region, with gusty winds expected in the Peace River Region.

More than 200 fires have been reported since early April, which have burned down more than 230 square km of land in British Columbia. Eight new fires broke out on Tuesday. Endi