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Residents of Yellowknife in Canada’s far north raced to evacuate by midday Friday as wildfires neared the remote city.
Meanwhile, in British Columbia, a state of emergency was declared for Kelowna, a city about 300 kilometers (180 miles) east of Vancouver, as fires threatened the region of around 150,000 people.
Canada is experiencing a record-setting wildfire season, with more than 1,000 active wildfires burning across the country as of Friday, over half of them out of control.
Four people have died so far and officials say over 13.7 million hectares (33.9 million acres) of land have been scorched.
What is the latest from the Northwest Territories?
Fire crews and water bombers are trying to save Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, from fires, which are just 15 kilometers northwest of the city and expected to reach the outskirts over the weekend.
“The next two days are absolutely critical and will be some of the most challenging of the season,” Mike Westwick, the territories’ fire information officer told public broadcaster CBC on Friday morning.
More than 20 flights were due to help evacuate residents of Yellowknife on Friday after about 1,500 people boarded planes out of the city a day earlier, while scores left via road, authorities said.
Long lines of cars crammed onto the lone highway connecting the area to Alberta province to the south ahead of the 12 p.m. local time (1800 GMT) Friday deadline.
Airtankers flew several missions overnight to help keep the highway open, as fires burned on either side of the road.
“We’re going to keep going until we have the population of Yellowknife out,” emergency services official Jennifer Young told a briefing.
A network of fire guards, sprinklers and water cannons was being established to try to protect Yellowknife, which sits on the northern side of the Great Slave Lake.
The evacuation of the city means half the population of the near-Arctic Northwest Territories will soon be displaced.
New data released Friday showed there were 236 active fires in the Northwest Territories alone.
Several evacuation centers have been set up in Alberta province, but the nearest to Yellowknife is 1,150 kilometers away.
What is the latest from British Columbia?
Some 1,425 kilometers (885 miles) to the southwest of Yellowknife, the city of West Kelowna in British Columbia, along with the Westbank First Nation communities, declared a local state of emergency early Friday.
Nearly 2,500 homes and businesses on its west side were ordered evacuated, while another 4,800 were advised to be ready to leave at short notice.
“Residents under Evacuation Alert are advised to be ready to leave their home at a moment’s notice,” the city said in a statement, adding that people should prepare to be away for an extended period.
Some of the hills around the city of 150,000 blazed early Friday after the fires jumped Lake Okanagan.
Kelowna is nestled in the Okanagan Valley which is home to some of the country’s top wineries.
The Pacific province has warned that the next 24 to 48 hours could be the most challenging.
“The hot dry temperatures, mixed with forecasted dry lightning has increased the risk of wildfires throughout much of British Columbia,” provincial Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma told a briefing on Thursday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau interrupted his summer vacation Thursday to convene an incident response group.
Climate change making wildfires more intense
Experts say climate change, driven by emissions from fossil fuel use, has exacerbated the wildfire problem.
Much of Canada has been experiencing abnormally dry conditions. Drought and high temperatures have been a contributing factor to the number and intensity of this year’s fires, according to officials.
At the same time, the thousands of fires burning in Canada have also emitted an unprecedented amount of carbon dioxide.
Earlier this year, suburbs of Halifax on the Atlantic coast were also evacuated due to fires, which contributed to choking smoke in parts of the United States.
mm/nm (AFP, AP, Reuters)
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