Ottawa, May 12 (IANS): Thousands of people are out of their homes in Canada's western province of British Columbia due to a raging wildfire, local media reported.

The Parker Lake wildfire was first detected in Fort Nelson and the Fort Nelson First Nation in the province on Friday around 5:25 p.m. PT (1225 GMT, Saturday). It ballooned in size from half a square km to nearly 17 square km by Saturday morning, Xinhua news agency reported.

About 3,600 people had to flee the fire and head south 380 km to the town of Fort St. John after an evacuation order was issued on Friday, CBC News reported.

According to the report, the fire sparked after high winds caused a tree to fall onto a power line and catch fire. The winds then whipped up the fire out of control.

A total of 137 fires were actively burning nationwide on Saturday, with 39 fires categorised as out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center.

On Thursday, the Canadian government warned that above-normal temperatures nationwide could lead to greater wildfire risks.

Canada's wildfire season in 2023 is the most destructive on record.