Aug. 17 (UPI) – Residents of Yellowknife and surrounding areas have been ordered to evacuate as a wildfire threatens to reach the outskirts of the northern Canadian city by the weekend.
Some 20,000 people who call Yellowknife home were ordered Wednesday to leave the city by noon Friday, with residents of neighboring communities of Ingraham Trail, Dettah, Kam Lake, Grace Lake and the city’s Engle Business District instructed to evacuate “as soon as possible” as they are at the highest risk.
“Residents who choose not to evacuate should understand they stay at their own risk,” the government of Northwest Territories said in the evacuation order. “Responders may not be able to come to your rescue if it is unsafe to do so.”
There are 236 active fires in the territory, and as of 9 p.m., at least one was about 10 miles northwest of Yellowknife with the possibility that without rain it will reach its outskirts by the weekend.
“While rain is in the forecast, there are no guarantees,” the territories’ ministry of environment and climate change said in an update.
The fire progressed about 3,170 feet over Wednesday, and air tankers are expected to keep dousing the blaze overnight to reduce its intensity.
Shane Thompson, the local environment and climate change minister, told reporters during a press conference that the city is under a phased evacuation and that Yellowknife “is not in immediate danger” and that there is “a safe window” for residents to evacuate by Friday via road and air.
Wildfire threatens northern Canadian city; 20,000 ordered to evacuate - UPI.com
Canada Wildfires and Deployments Topic: Who wants to go to Canada?
(no worries if you’d rather not consolidate these)