The government of the Northwest Territories has ordered all residents of Hay River, a town of 4,000 people still there, to leave. “Anyone who stays in Hay River does so at their own risk. There will be no emergency or response services available,” explained the government of the Northwest Territories, where a 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.
“Extreme southwest winds brought the fire closer to the city, along the highway, forcing crews and planes to pull back and regroup at a safe distance,” said Minister Shane Thompson. of the Environment of this region, evoking a “very serious situation”.
Facing a wall of flames
According to the authorities, the firefighters face a wall of flames of several kilometers which was, this Saturday afternoon, less than a kilometer from the city. Temperatures exceed 30 degrees.
In recent hours, the smoke from the fires has greatly reduced visibility, making it very difficult to use helicopters.
According to Kandis Jameson, the mayor of the city, evacuated Friday evening, a hundred inhabitants did not want to leave the place.
Canada is experiencing the worst wildfire season in its history due to, among other things, severe drought across much of the country and high temperatures in the north.
The bar of 15 million hectares burned was crossed this week, an area larger than Greece.
2023-08-26 22:21:26
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