BRITISH COLUMBIA

Crews battling largest recorded wildfire in B.C. history

The Canadian Press Published Tuesday, August 22, 2017 7:06AM PDT Last Updated Tuesday, August 22, 2017 7:58AM PDT

A wildfire burns on a mountain in the distance east of Cache Creek behind a trailer park that was almost completely destroyed by wildfire, in Boston Flats, B.C., in the early morning hours of Monday July 10, 2017. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

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KAMLOOPS, B.C. - More than 400 firefighters are battling to contain the largest recorded wildfire in British Columbia's history.

Kevin Skrepnek with the B.C. Wildfire Service says 19 fires have merged in B.C.'s Interior, creating a single fire that's estimated to be more than 4,600 square kilometres in size.

Previously, the largest recorded B.C. wildfire was a 2,200 square kilometre blaze that burned in the northeastern part of the province in 1958.

It's been a record-breaking fire season in B.C., with more than one-thousand fires scorching about 10,000 square kilometres since April 1st.

Emergency Management B.C. says 3,800 people remain displaced by the fires and nearly 10,000 more have been warned that they may need to leave on a moment's notice.

Skrepnek says crews fighting flames in the southern part of the province are getting help from calm weather and seasonal temperatures, but unsettled conditions are expected to return later this week, bringing wind and possible lightning.