Thousands of people have been evacuated as wildfires spread in Canada's British Columbia, though rain will soon arrive.

In scenes becoming a regular occurrence in warmer months, more than 3,500 people have been evacuated in north-west Canada.

A wildfire, believed to have been ignited by a felled tree, is around 1.5 km away from the settlement of Fort Nelson.

Dry weather conditions in the build-up to the blaze resulted in dry vegetation, primed to ignite.

As this fire approaches Fort Nelson, spreading over 5,280 hectares, separate fires are also burning in Alberta where around 6,000 people have been evacuated.

Rainfall is expected later this afternoon, helping calm the fires as emergency personnel work on the ground.

Last year, Canada saw a record high number of wildfires. Which saw thick smoke descend over parts of the US, and hundreds of thousands of Canadians evacuated throughout the season.