Western Canada’s British Columbia declared its first state of emergency in 14 years late on Friday as dozens of wildfires spread throughout the rural interior of the province, forcing thousands to evacuate their homes.

On Friday, 138 new fires were started in the province, according to CBC News.

The province said in a statement on its website that it expects fires to spread further over the weekend due to continued high temperatures, low humidity and brisk winds.

“This is an urgent situation and public safety is the top priority,” the statement said.

Areas hardest hit included Ashcroft, which is about 200 kilometers (124 miles) northeast of Vancouver, Canada’s third-largest city, and 100 Mile House, a district about 100 kilometers further north in the province’s Cariboo region.

One man posted dramatic video footage on Twitter that showed his vehicle passing through a highway that was encroached by flames on both sides.

“Fires are being reported faster than they can be written down – all over the Cariboo,” the Cariboo Regional District Emergency Operations Centre said late Friday on its Facebook page. “If you are told to evacuate from your property, please leave immediately. These fires are extremely volatile.”

As of Friday evening, some 3,600 residents had been evacuated from their homes, according to CTV Vancouver.

British Columbia last declared a state of emergency in August 2003, which was also to deal with wildfires.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle in Toronto; editing by Diane Craft)