🔻After wildfires and the declaration of a state of emergency forced thousands of people in western Canada to leave their homes, the fires are still spreading rapidly, and their size has doubled since Friday.

According to the British Columbia Wildfire Service, the wildfire known as “Bald Eagle” now covers an area of more than 136 square kilometers in the areas of Sumerland, Peachland, and other parts of British Columbia.

Doug Holmes, mayor of Sumerland, told Reuters: “We have to prepare for the worst.”

Officials said the flames are so enormous and tall that they create their own weather systems, leading to the occurrence of thunder and lightning.

David Eby, the premier of British Columbia, said at a press conference on Saturday that one of the fire service officials compared the intensity of this wildfire to a “bomb explosion.”

According to officials, the Bald Eagle wildfires have led to the largest evacuation operation of the summer so far, and more than 20,000 people across British Columbia have left their homes.

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