Canada wildfires: British Columbia declares emergency as 15,000 homes told to evacuate

About 15,000 households have been ordered to evacuate in Canada's British Columbia, as firefighters battle raging wildfires that have set homes ablaze.

Officials said a "significant" number of buildings caught fire in West Kelowna, a city of 36,000 people, and more than 2,400 homes were evacuated.

A state of emergency has been declared for the entire province, where hundreds of separate fires are burning.

Hundreds of miles north, a huge fire edges towards the city of Yellowknife.

An official deadline to evacuate the city - the capital of Canada's Northwest Territories - lapsed on Friday. A local official said later that day that nearly all residents had left, either by car or plane.

About 19,000 of the city's 20,000 inhabitants had evacuated, the territories' environment and communities minister Shane Thompson told reporters.

"Some are choosing to shelter in place. If you are still in Yellowknife and you are not essential to the emergency response, please evacuate," Mr Thompson said.

He warned that the highways and airport could be impacted by the wildfires.