Sharjah 24 – Reuters: Canadian fire crews battled on Thursday to prevent wildfires from reaching the northern city of Yellowknife, where all 20,000 residents are leaving by car and plane after an evacuation order was declared.
Water bombers flew low over Yellowknife as thick smoke blanketed the capital of the vast and sparsely populated Northwest Territories. Officials say the fire, 16 km north east of the city, could reach the outskirts by Saturday if there is no rain.
"Very tough days ahead – with two days of northwest to west-northwest winds on Friday and Saturday, which would push fire towards Yellowknife," the territorial fire service said in a statement on Facebook.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans to convene a meeting of the Incident Response Group to discuss the fires later on Thursday, his office said. The group is comprised of senior officials and ministers and meets in cases of crisis.
This is Canada's worst-ever wildfire season with more than 1,000 active fires burning across the country, including 265 in the Northwest Territories. Experts say climate change has exacerbated the wildfire problem.
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