A heatwave in western Canada lasting for a week has resulted in thousands of people being forced to evacuate their homes due to raging wildfires in parts of Alberta and flooding triggered by rapid snow melt across interior British Columbia. The situation in Alberta has worsened with 78 fires burning and over 13,000 people under evacuation orders.

One of the most affected areas is the Little Red River Cree Nation, which comprises three communities in the north of the province, where the Fox Lake fire has destroyed 20 homes and the police station in a 1,458-hectare (3609-acre) blaze.

Unusually hot weather in western Canada has led to over 78 wildfires and more than 13,000 people being evacuated in Alberta. This comes after a cold spring, but the rapid onset of high temperatures, with places seeing temperatures up to 10-15°C above the average for early May, has resulted in the fires and flooding.

Pembina Pipeline Corp, which operates pipelines in the region, has activated emergency response and incident management processes. In addition to the fires, rapid snow melt triggered flooding across interior British Columbia, causing rivers to burst their banks and washing through homes in numerous communities.

The unseasonably high temperatures, 10-15 C above the average for early May, are expected to continue, with heavy rain forecast to worsen the flooding.