disasters
Wildfires in Canada: Area capital is evacuated
Heavy smoke from nearby wildfires across the Yellowknife sky. photo
© Angela Gzowski/Canadian Press via ZUMA Press/dpa
The fire is getting closer and closer to the town of Yellowknife in northwestern Canada. Should there be no rain, the flames could reach the homes of 20,000 residents over the weekend.
Because of the violent forest fires in Canada is to evacuate the Northwest Territories’ capital, Yellowknife. The local authorities called on the approximately 20,000 residents on Wednesday evening (local time) to leave the city by Friday.
“The fire now poses a real threat to the city,” regional environment secretary Shane Thompson warned at a news conference. The fire is still around 17 kilometers away from Yellowknife. Barring rain, the flames could reach the outskirts of town by the weekend.
There is a safe window for evacuation, Thompson said. There is no immediate danger yet. The authorities made buses and planes available for residents without a car and for sick people. “Pilot vehicles” are also available to help motorists on the trunk roads to get safely through the clouds of smoke when visibility is poor.
state of emergency declared
The Prime Minister of the Northwest Territories, Caroline Cochrane, called the situation “unprecedented”. “There’s no other way to describe it,” she said.
In the region – a sparsely populated area in the northern polar circle – a state of emergency was declared to ensure faster help from the federal government.
Numerous forest fires have been raging in the region for a long time. According to local authorities, there are currently 236 active fires. An area totaling around 21,000 square kilometers is affected – that’s roughly the size of the German state of Hesse.