British Columbia Premier David Eby says his government’s decision to declare a provincial state of emergency allows authorities to rapidly access tools and implement measures to deal with the evolving wildfire situation.

Eby said late Friday that B.C. is facing the worst wildfire season in its history and the deteriorating situation means the province needs to respond to challenging days ahead.

B.C.’s wildfires have resulted in more than 15,000 people being told to evacuate their properties and more than 20,000 placed on evacuation alert.