![]() ![]() The Northwest Territories fire department said Yellowknife, with a population of 20,000, was not facing an imminent threat despite fast-moving fires coming within 20 kilometers (12 miles) of the regional capital. Images shared on social media and on Canadian television showed an orange smokey haze over the region, large swaths of blackened forests, and melted headlights and peeled paint from the heat on those cars and trucks that made it through to safety before roads became completely undrivable. The tiny hamlet of Enterprise at the junction of two major highways has been almost completely destroyed. Several towns and Indigenous communities were under evacuation orders - displacing 15 percent of the territory's population or about 6,000 people - while firefighters in some areas were forced to pull back as strong winds stoked the flames. "My heart breaks for the people of the Northwest Territories, who are dealing with devastating wildfires," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "There was no cell service, so I had no way of knowing where I was," said Evoy.Įventually he made his way back to Hay River and caught a military flight to Fort McMurray, Alberta. "The asphalt was on fire."Īll along the route there were many abandoned and charred vehicles. "Flames were jumping over my truck" and he said he worried its tires would melt in the heat. "The forest fire crossed the highway, I couldn't see anything in front of me," he said. "The highway was engulfed in flames and smoked out," the 28-year-old said, describing his panicked bolt to safety over land as "the scariest moment of my life." "We find ourselves in a crisis situation and our government is using every tool available to assist," said Shane Thompson, territorial environment minister.Įvoy, a resident of Fort Smith, told AFP he had tried to drive south to Alberta province, but had to turn back and heed officials' pleas to immediately go to the airport, warning that the "safest way out is on a plane." On Tuesday evening Northwest Territories authorities declared a state of emergency, citing a rapidly changing situation and shifting needs on the ground. ![]()
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