Heavy rain helps douse wildfires in Canada’s British Columbia

KELOWNA, British Columbia (AP) — Firefighters in a scenic region of British Columbia say heavy rain overnight has helped douse wildfires that forced the evacuation of thousands of people from the Canadian province. Officials in southern British Columbia say 174 properties have been partially or totally damaged by the fires that had been rampaging around Lake Okanagan since last Thursday. But they were optimistic about the battle against wildfires that raged for days in the Okanagan Valley in threatening towns in the Kelowna area, about 90 miles (150 kilometers) north of the U.S. border.