Tens of thousands of people evacuated due to wildfires in Canada

taketonews

Several tens of thousands of people have been evacuated in western Canada, as fierce wildfires are approaching cities in the province of British Columbia and the northern Northwest Territories – the latest threats in a long summer of unprecedented wildfires in the country. Canadian media report this.

The British Columbia government declared a state of emergency Friday night as firefighters battle a major wildfire in the hills near West Kelowna, a town of 36,000 about 300 kilometers northeast of Vancouver. “The situation has deteriorated rapidly over the past 24 hours,” said British Columbia Prime Minister David Eby.

Thousands of West Kelowna residents have been evacuated as dark smoke darkened the valley around Lake Okanagan and the hills around the town lit up a great distance with an orange glow from burning forest. Many spent a sleepless night with acquaintances or in their cars. Thousands more have been ordered to be ready for departure.

also look at this June photo series about the wildfires in Canada

Airspace closed

Evacuations have also begun in Kelowna, a city of 150,000 people across the lake in the Okanagan region. According to authorities, the fire, which started on Tuesday and is spreading aggressively, could reach the places within 24 to 48 hours. The airspace is closed to give space for seaplanes.

“We fought 100 years of fires in one night,” Jason Brolund, chief of the West Kelowna Fire Department, said Friday. He urged residents to follow evacuation orders.

Hundreds of kilometers

More than 900 miles to the northeast in the Northwest Territories, meanwhile, about 95 percent of Yellowknife’s population of about 20,000 has left the city because of wildfires that have approached within miles. More than 15,000 people have fled by car on the only highway to the south, a drive of hundreds of miles to the neighboring province of Alberta. That road is still open, despite fires on both sides. About 3,800 people have taken off on evacuation flights.

Residents of Yellowknife fleeing the city because of an approaching wildfire line up Thursday for gas at a filling station in Fort Providence in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Photo Bill Braden/The Canadian Press via AP

A massive wildfire threatening Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, made little gain Friday, but strong winds predicted for Saturday could drive the fire to the city limits, authorities say. “Yellowknife is not safe at the moment,” an evacuated resident told Canadian channel CBC.

Thousand active fires

Canada is experiencing the worst wildfire season in its modern history. Nearly all thirteen Canadian provinces and territories have experienced intense wildfires since early summer; currently there are a thousand active fires raging in the country. About 140,000 square kilometers of forest, or twice the area of ​​the Netherlands and Belgium combined, went up in flames. More than 180,000 people have had to leave their homes.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Yellowknife evacuees at a relief center in Edmonton on Friday. He confirmed the deployment of military resources and federal assistance with evacuations. “We will get through this incredibly difficult summer together,” he said.

ttn-32