A wildfire forced the evacuation of more than 9,000 people in Labrador City and Wabush, in northeastern Canada, on the evening of July 12. Fanned by high winds, the fire spread quickly, making it impossible to use water bombers. Residents had to travel more than 500 km to evacuate.
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A wildfire considered “out of control” and fanned by high winds has forced the evacuation of more than 9,000 people in northeastern Canada since Friday, July 12. Residents of Labrador City and Wabush, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, have been ordered to leave their homes due to the “ extreme fire behavior. »
In images shared on social media, queues of cars are seen waiting to fill up with petrol while the sky is obscured by huge clouds of smoke. When I saw the smoke, it was a shock “, Labrador City resident Stacy Hunt told CBC public broadcaster. There’s only one place we can go. We don’t have many options. “, he added.
A fire with “extreme behavior”
In this remote region in the north of Quebecthe residents have no choice: they are forced to evacuate more than 500 kilometers east of their homes by the only existing road. We are observing extreme behavior of the fire. It is advancing at about 50 meters per minute. ” explained Jeff Motty, spokesman for the provincial fire department, who added that the intensity of the fire made it impossible to use water bombers.
Belinda Adams, the mayor of Labrador City, again urged the last remaining residents on the site to evacuate in a video on social media on Saturday morning, because the “ fire is still active “.
1.5 million hectares burned
On Friday, July 12, the federal government explained that the weather had been favorable enough to limit the fires since the beginning of the summer, but that the country was entering the peak of the season. So far, Canada is experiencing a rather “average” season – with 1.5 million hectares burned – according to official figures.
Last year, the country experienced an apocalyptic summer and recorded the worst fire season in its history. There had never been so much burned area (15 million hectares, 6,400 fires), people evacuated (more than 200,000), provinces affected, mega-fires…
Drier and warmer conditions in many parts of the country, caused by climate change, have increased the risk of major wildfires in recent years, experts say. Canada currently has 575 active fires, with more than 400 considered out of control. Many of the fires have been raging in recent days, particularly in the western part of the country, which has been experiencing a heat wave.
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