The city empties as thousands flee wildfires near the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Residents heeded warnings to evacuate Canada’s Northwest Territories capital as a massive wildfire raged on the outskirts of the city of 20,000 Friday as firefighters battled a Growing fire burning down homes in a British Columbia town.

Thousands of people in Yellowknife drove hundreds of miles to safety, with authorities guiding motorists through fire zones while others waited in long lines for emergency flights as Canada’s worst fire season on record ended. showed signs of abating.

Airtankers flew missions to keep the only route out of Yellowknife open. Meanwhile, a network of fire guards, sprinklers, and water cannons was established to try to protect the city from fire.

Fire information officer Mike Westwick told The Associated Press by phone Friday night that the fire had made no progress Friday and was still 9 miles northwest of the city, in part because cooler temperatures created less fire activity. fire and cleared some smoke, allowing the tankers to fly safely. fire retardant drop.

Still, “we’ve got the wrong kind of wind” in the forecast, gusty and out of the west and northwest, and no rain, Westwick said.

Shane Thompson, the territory’s environment and natural resources minister, said more than 19,000 people left Yellowknife in less than 48 hours. Some 15,000 went by car and 3,800 flew.

“This is an incredible achievement to safely evacuate so many people,” he said.

The fire, caused by lightning more than a month ago, is about 644 square miles and “is not going to go away any time soon,” Westwick said, adding that the fire had breached three different containment lines, fueled by dry weather and dense forests. .

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This is an incredible achievement to safely evacuate so many people.

–Shane Thompson

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Gas stations that still had fuel were open Friday, though the town was largely empty, with a grocery store, pharmacy and bar still open.

“It’s like having a pint at the end of the world,” said Kieron Testart, who went door-to-door in the nearby First Nations communities of Dettah and NDilo to check on people. Indigenous communities have been greatly affected by forest fires, which threaten important cultural activities such as hunting, fishing and the collection of native plants.

Hundreds of miles south of Yellowknife, homes were burning in West Kelowna, British Columbia, a city of about 38,000, after a wildfire turned “exponentially worse” than expected overnight, the fire chief said.

Prime Minister David Eby declared a state of emergency for the province due to the rapidly evolving bushfire situation.

“We will be facing an extremely challenging situation over the next few days,” Eby said at a news conference on Friday night.

He said the decree would give authorities a number of legal tools, including the power to prevent people from traveling to dangerous areas and guarantee access to accommodation for evacuees and heavy equipment to fight the fires.

West Kelowna residents had already been ordered to evacuate 2,400 properties, while another 4,800 properties were on evacuation alert. The BC Forest Fire Service said the fire grew six times overnight and spread over 26 square miles.

Some first responders were trapped while rescuing people who failed to evacuate, said Jason Brolund, chief of the West Kelowna fire department, who said residents face another “night of fear.” No known loss of life.

“There were a number of risks that were taken to save life and property last night,” Brolund told a news conference, describing how lifeguards had to rescue people who jumped into a lake to avoid the flames. “It didn’t have to be like this.”

Bowinn Ma, the province’s minister of emergency management, told a press briefing on Friday afternoon that “we still face great challenges.”

“I was deeply horrified as I witnessed the harrowing images emerging from West Kelowna,” she said. “The last 24 hours have been an incredible challenge for people across the province.”

In Yellowknife, emergency officials worried that conditions could change and propel the fire, one of hundreds raging across the territory, to the city limits.

Mayor Rebecca Alty said she understands the emotional roller coaster that city residents experience.

“Unfortunately, the journey is not over yet,” he said. “The fire keeps getting closer and the uncertainty of when you will be able to return will be difficult.”

Alice Liske left Yellowknife by road with her six children earlier this week because the air quality was so bad. She was worried that so many people could flee the city in such a short time.

“Not only that,” he said, “but when we get back, what will be in store for us?”

Canada has seen a record number of wildfires this year, helping to smother parts of the US with smoke, with more than 5,700 fires burning more than 53,000 square miles from one end of Canada to the other, according to he Canadian Interagency Wildland Fire Center.

As of Friday morning, more than 1,000 wildfires were burning across the country, more than half of them out of control.

Some 6,800 people in eight other communities in the Northwest Territories had already evacuated their homes, including the small community of Enterprise, which was largely destroyed. Authorities said they all made it out alive.

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