Banff resort evacuated as crews tackle wildfire
A woman stands on a dock on the Vermillion Lakes near Banff, Alberta, Sunday, July 16, 2017, overlooking Mt. Rundle covered by smoke that came from a wildfire in Kootenay National Park in British Columbia. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — A popular Rocky Mountain resort in Banff National Park in western Canada is being cleared of guests so crews can fight a wildfire raging in the nearby backcountry.
Sunshine Village, a ski hill on the Alberta-British Columbia boundary that offers summer hiking, is about 1.6 miles from the flames. Sunshine spokeswoman Kendra Scurfield said Thursday about 150 people are staying at the resort’s hotel and they’ll have to leave by midday Friday.
More than 45,000 people have been evacuated as more than 155 wildfires burn in British Columbia.
Cache Creek was the first major community to be evacuated on July 7.