Thousands evacuate as fire nears Canadian cities of Yellowknife and Kelowna

Thousands of Canadian residents have rushed to evacuate their homes as multiple wildfires raging in the nation's northern territories threaten towns.

The 20,000 residents of Yellowknife have been urged to evacuate by Friday, as Canada's worst recorded fire season showed no signs of easing.

Traffic on the city's one highway was choked as residents drove hundreds of kilometres to safety or waited in long lines for emergency flights.

The fire was within 15 kilometres of the town's northern edge early Friday, with fears strong northern winds could push the flames toward the highway.

North-west winds combined with minimal rain were complicating efforts to slow the fire, which could reach the city limits by the weekend, emergency officials said.

There was a chance of limited rain on Friday, but officials said it likely wouldn't be enough to stop the fire.

"We're heading into a critical couple of days in management of this wildfire," Yellowknife fire information officer Mike Westwick said.

"We're going to be putting everything we have into slowing that progression down. We're going to be throwing aircraft at it and when it's safe, we're going to be throwing people at it."

Meanwhile, a state of emergency was declared in Kelowna early Friday, a city about a four-drive drive from Vancouver.

"Residents under Evacuation Alert are advised to be ready to leave their home at a moment's notice," the City of Kelowna said in a statement.

The evacuation orders were issued after wildfires discovered on Tuesday jumped Lake Okanagan, sparking spot wildfires in the town of 150,000.

"We're all tired of the word unprecedented, yet there is no other way to describe this situation in the Northwest Territories," Premier Caroline Cochrane posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Canada has seen a record number of wildfires this year, with more than 5,700 fires burning more than 137,000 square kilometres, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

Yellowknife's evacuation was by far the largest this year, said Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs president Ken McMullen.

Ten planes left Yellowknife with 1,500 passengers on Thursday, and 22 more flights will hopefully leave by Friday, Northwest Territories's Department of Municipal and Community Affairs director Jennifer Young said.

Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty said the fire did not advance as much as expected on Thursday, but "it is still coming".

She added that heavy smoke was expected to move in, increasing the urgency of evacuating while it was still possible.

As of Friday morning, more than 1,000 wildfires were burning across the country, over half of them out of control.

'I don't know what I'm coming home to'

Yellowknife resident Angela Canning packed her camper with important documents and family keepsakes as she prepared to leave with her two dogs.

Her husband has stayed behind as an essential worker.

"I'm really anxious and I'm scared. I'm emotional. … I'm in shock," she said.

"I don't know what I'm coming home to or if I'm coming home. There's just so much unknowns here."

Alice Liske left Yellowknife by road with her six kids earlier this week because the air quality was so bad.

She worried about how so many people would flee the city in such a short time.

"Not only that," she said.

"But when we go back, what will be there for us?"

Lisa Mundy whose family evacuated nearby Hay River said their vehicle began to melt as they drove through embers.

"I was obviously scared the tyre was going to break, our car was going to catch on fire and then it went from just embers to full smoke," Ms Mundy told CBC.

She said her son kept saying: "I don't want to die, mommy."

About 6,800 people in eight other communities in the territory have already been forced to evacuate their homes, including the small community of Enterprise, which was largely destroyed.

Officials said everyone made it out alive.

The Yellowknife evacuation order issued Wednesday night applies to the city and the neighbouring First Nations communities of Ndilo and Dettah.

Story By: AP

Original Story link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-19/wildfires-rage-in-canadas-yellowknife-kelowna/102750348