So far this year, Canadian authorities have registered over 5,700 forest fires in the country. That is twice as many fires as were registered in previous record years.
This year’s forest fires have so far affected 13.7 million hectares – which corresponds to around a third of Sweden’s area.
“We are all tired of the word unprecedented, but there is no other way to describe the situation,” Northwest Territories Premier Caroline Cochrane said in a statement. reports CNN.
People are being evacuated from Yellowknife
The ongoing fires have spread quickly due to the strong winds. Since Wednesday, an evacuation of the approximately 20,000 residents from the city of Yellowknife, which is the capital of the Northwest Territories, has been underway.
On Wednesday, around 1,000 people were flown from the city, and now both roads and flights are congested with people fleeing the flames.
One of those who got away by car is Ruoy Pineda, who testifies to thick smoke and roads lined with flames.
– We are very exhausted right now. We have barely slept and are very worried about our house in Yellowknife, he told CNN.
At least four firefighters have so far died in the fires, Reuters reports.
Trudeau held emergency meeting
During Thursday evening, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a crisis meeting due to the serious situation.
“We talked about the situation and I confirmed the government’s commitment to provide support both now and in the coming days and weeks,” he writes in a post on X, formerly Twitter.