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FORT NELSON, British Columbia. — An intense wildfire could reach a town in western Canada this week, fire experts and officials warned, based on forecasts of winds that have fuelled the out-of-control blaze, which has forced the evacuation of thousands of people.
The British Columbia Wildfire Service said the wildfire was burning 2½ kilometres northwest of Fort Nelson. More than 4 700 people have evacuated after an order was issued on Friday.
Bowinn Ma, the province’s minister of emergency management, said that drought conditions have persisted since last year and no rain is in the forecast.
“We are extremely concerned,” she said. “It is extremely uncommon for us to have so many on a evacuation order.”.
Thousands of people have been evacuated as enormous, out-of-control wildfires scorch large swaths of territory in western Canada, with the country grappling with what could be another devastating fire season. Cliff Chapman, the service’s director of operations, said they were fortunate that stronger winds didn’t materialise overnight, but said that winds were expected to continue to blow west over the next day or two.
This week, residents of the small town of Fort Nelson, in northeastern British Columbia, were forced from their homes as a blaze grew “dramatically” in only a few days and was moving towards the community.
In the neighbouring province of Alberta, authorities gave people in parts of Fort McMurray – a town at the heart of the Canadian tar sands region – about two hours to leave due to an approaching wildfire.
Canada saw its most intense fire season on record last year, with hundreds of wildfires burning in provinces and territories across the country in a crisis experts said was worsened by climate change.
More than 130 wildfires are currently burning across the country, according to a tally by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
Of those, 40 were considered out of control yesterday morning.
So far this year, Canada has experienced more than 1 000 wildfires that have burned approximately 336 000 hectares of land, the CIFFC found.
Most of the blazes are in British Columbia and Alberta, the CIFFC says
Others also have broken out in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, among other parts of the country.
About 3 500 people were evacuated from Fort Nelson First Nation, in northeastern British Columbia, due to the Parker Lake wildfire. By Tuesday, the blaze had grown to more than 8 400 hectares.
On Tuesday afternoon, authorities in Alberta also issued evacuation orders for the Abasand, Beacon Hill, Prairie Creek and Grayling Terrace areas of Fort McMurray.
The town itself, which was engulfed by a devastating wildfire in 2016, is currently under an “evacuation alert”, which means residents should be ready to leave if an evacuation order is issued.
The Alberta Wildfire agency said yesterday that favourable winds were expected to push the fire away from Fort McMurray while crews continue to work to contain the blaze.
Meanwhile, people have also been evacuated in parts of northern Manitoba, in central Canada. An out-of-control wildfire near the small towns of Flin Flon and The Pas – near the province’s border with Saskatchewan – has grown to 31 600 hectares. – Al Jazeera
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