Thousands Evacuating Capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories as Over 200 Wildfires Threaten Region
Residents of Yellowknife, home to about 20,000, were ordered to evacuate their homes by noon on Friday
Thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories as wildfires burned through the region.
On Friday, one fire was reported as being within 10 miles of Yellowknife’s northern edge, according to NBC News, and moving closer to a major highway.
Residents in Yellowknife, the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories and home to around 20,000 people, were working against a Friday noon deadline to evacuate their homes.
As reported by CNN, there were 236 active wildfires in the region as of Friday. Along with Yellowknife, several other Northwest Territories communities have been ordered to evacuate.
On Thursday, 10 planes left Yellowknife carrying 1,500 passengers, with hopes that a further 22 flights would be able to leave on Friday with a further 1,800 passengers, per NBC News.
BC Wildfire Service/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
There are over 200 active wildfires in the Northwest Territories regionOfficials have been encouraging people to leave by car and carpool if possible. “Evacuation flights should be used as a last resort for those who do not have the option to evacuate by road,” territory officials said, according to CNN.
“I want to be clear that the city [Yellowknife] is not in immediate danger and there’s a safe window for residents to leave the city by road and by air,” Shane Thompson, a government minister for the Territories, told a news conference, per CBS News. “Without rain, it is possible (the fire) will reach the city outskirts by the weekend.”
“We’re all tired of the word unprecedented, yet there is no other way to describe this situation in the Northwest Territories,” added Caroline Cochrane, Premier of the Northwest Territories, in a statement Wednesday night, according to CNN.
BC Wildfire Service/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Wildfires have been burning across CanadaRelated: Hawaii Wildfire Death Toll Rises to 53 as Residents Describe Racing Against Time to Leave
Per the outlet, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with a group of senior government officials and ministers on Thursday to discuss the fires.
Yellowknife resident Ruoy Pineda told CNN about his family’s attempts to evacuate the capital and described the difficult conditions.
“We were not actually fully prepared,” Pineda said. “On the road, we were all scared of what we saw ahead of us, but we keep reminding ourselves it is better to be out than stranded.”
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“On the road you could see the fire and we were struggling because of the smoke,” he continued. “The visibility on the road was very bad. We couldn’t even see if someone was ahead of us. We are very exhausted right now. We’ve barely slept and are very worried about our house in Yellowknife and if we’ll still have a home.”
This is the worst fire season on record in Canada, according to NBC. As of Wednesday, there were 1,067 active wildfires burning across Canada, per CBS.
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