Fires in Canada’s Far North are picking up steam on Saturday due to wind and high temperatures forcing the complete evacuation of the town of Hay River (Northwest Territories), including firefighters and essential workers.
The government of this State ordered all the inhabitants of this commune of 4,000 inhabitants still on the spot to go to the airport and to await new instructions.
“Anyone who stays in Hay River does so at their own risk. There will be no emergency or response services available”added the government of the region, where the state of emergency has been declared.
Two-thirds of the 41,000 inhabitants of this vast territory in Canada’s Far North are currently being evacuated to neighboring provinces, sometimes nearly 2,000 kilometers from their homes.
Kilometer-long wall of flames
“Extreme southwesterly winds brought the fire closer to the city along the highway, forcing teams and aircraft to pull back and regroup at a safe distance”detailed Shane Thompson, the environment minister of this region, referring to a “very serious situation”.
According to the authorities, the firefighters face a wall of flames of several kilometers.
Canada is experiencing the worst wildfire season in its history due in part to severe drought across much of the country and high temperatures in the North.
The threshold of 15 million hectares burned was crossed this week, an area larger than that of Greece. This is already more than double the previous record recorded over a full fire season – although this one is not yet over.
About 200,000 residents had to be evacuated, and four people died.
According to experts, global warming has created much more favorable weather conditions for fires.