Prime Minister Harper making stop at Westside Road wildfire

WEST KELOWNA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier Christy Clark will be paying a visit to the command post for the Westside Road wildfire this afternoon.

Harper plans to thank some of the men and women fighting the fire today, July 23, according to a media release.

Premier Clark spoke at the same command post Wednesday, not far from the fire, which has the evacuation of 70 homes.

It's one of 10 evacuation alerts or orders across the province, where more than 250 blazes are burning, 43 of which broke out on Tuesday following a series of lightning storms.

The premier said she is concerned that climate change has altered the terrain, drying out the land and making it more vulnerable to fire. As a result what B.C. is seeing isn't unusual and will happen more often, she said.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

— With files from The Canadian Press