Canada: Wildfires in far north spur mass evacuations

Wildfires approaching the capital of Canada's Northwest Territories on Thursday triggered mass evacuations from the city.

Thick smoke covered Yellowknife, as the blaze was within 16 kilometers (10 miles) of the northern part of the city.

Crews are fighting the flames, amid fears that the fire could reach the outer districts of Yellowknife by Saturday if there is no rainfall. The city has a population of nearly 20,000 residents.

"We are in #Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, in support of #Oplentis," the Canadian Armed Forces posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Operation Lentus is the official term in reference to the army's response to natural disasters.   

The Canadian army said it had "hit the ground running to provide support and help protect communities from wildfires."

'Very tough days ahead'

Authorities in the Northwest Territories, meanwhile, are bracing for the worst.

"Very tough days ahead — with two days of northwest to west-northwest winds on Friday and Saturday, which could push fire towards Yellowknife," the Northwest Territories fire service said on its Facebook page.

Yellowknife residents are either leaving by car or registering for emergency flights out of the city.

Authorities fear that the fire could head towards the main highway out of the city. Yellowknife residents have until noon local time on Friday (1800 GMT) to evacuate from the area.

Shane Thompson, a minister in the Northwest Territories, reiterated that there is still time to get out of Yellowknife.

"I want to be clear that the city is not in immediate danger and there's a safe window for residents to leave the city by road and by air," Thompson said during a media briefing.

Trudeau hold emergency meeting amid catastrophic fire season

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to hold emergency meeting with ministers and officials on the crisis.

The evacuations in the Yellowknife and surrounding areas are the largest-ever in the Northwest Territories. It ultimately means that half of the territory's population could be displaced, with Indigenous communities in the region also put at risk.

Canada in 2023 is experiencing its worst wildfire season on record. Over 1,000 fires are raging across the country as of Thursday.

Four firefighters in Canada have been killed this year by the blazes. Scientists believe the fires are a result of human-induced climate change. 

wd/rs (Reuters, AP, AFP)