Residents in Canada's Northwest Territories have heeded evacuation warnings as a large wildfire burns just outside the capital city of Yellowknife.
Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate, with some driving hundreds of kilometers to safety and others waiting in long lines for emergency flights. A network of fire guards, sprinklers, and water cannons has been set up to protect the city, and air tankers have been deployed to keep the evacuation route open.
The fire, which was caused by lightning over a month ago, has grown to 1,670 square kilometers and continues to pose a significant threat due to dry weather and dense forests.
As the wildfire situation continues to worsen in Canada, gas stations with remaining fuel are still open in the virtually empty city of Yellowknife, with only a few essential businesses operating. Indigenous communities near Yellowknife are being severely affected by the wildfires, threatening important cultural activities like hunting, fishing, and plant gathering.
In West Kelowna, British Columbia, located hundreds of kilometers south of Yellowknife, a wildfire has grown "exponentially worse" than expected, leading to homes burning in the city.
Premier David Eby has declared a state of emergency for the province due to the rapidly evolving wildfire situation. The decree grants authorities various legal tools to manage the crisis, including controlling access to dangerous areas and ensuring accommodations for evacuees.
Residents in West Kelowna have been ordered to evacuate thousands of properties, while thousands more are on evacuation alert. The BC Wildfire Service reported that the fire has grown significantly overnight, covering an area of 68 square kilometers. Some first responders became trapped while rescuing people who hadn't evacuated, emphasizing the dangerous conditions they face.
Jason Brolund, chief of the West Kelowna fire department, noted the risks taken to save lives and property and stressed the need for safety in the face of these fires.
This is a continuation of the wildfire crisis in Canada, with fires spreading rapidly and threatening communities across the country.
Canada continues to grapple with an unprecedented wildfire crisis, with Bowinn Ma, the province's minister of emergency management, acknowledging the ongoing challenges.
She expressed her distress at the images emerging from West Kelowna and emphasized the difficult 24 hours faced by people across the province.
In Yellowknife, concerns persist that changing conditions could push one of the hundreds of wildfires in the territory towards the city limits. Mayor Rebecca Alty empathized with residents, acknowledging the emotional roller-coaster they are experiencing and the uncertainty surrounding their return.
Many residents, like Alice Liske, left Yellowknife due to hazardous air quality. Liske, who evacuated with her six children, expressed concerns about what they would find when they return.
Canada has experienced a record number of wildfires this year, causing smoke to affect areas in the United States. More than 5,700 fires have burned over 137,000 square kilometers across the country, with over half of them still out of control.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with his incident response group and emphasized the importance of maintaining communication services and preventing price gouging on flights and essential goods.
In addition to Yellowknife, approximately 6,800 people in eight other communities in the Northwest Territories have evacuated their homes, including the devastated community of Enterprise.
Thankfully, all residents evacuated safely, but some shared harrowing experiences of driving through embers and smoke-filled vehicles as they fled the advancing fires.
This news underscores the ongoing wildfire emergency in Canada, affecting numerous communities and raising significant challenges for residents and emergency responders.