Wildfire threatens northern Canadian city; 20,000 ordered to evacuate

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.

"You put yourself and others at risk if you choose to stay," he said. "Please take this order seriously."

Residents are being discouraged from evacuating to nearby islands or cabins as air quality is expected to decline.

On Tuesday, Thompson had declared a Territorial State of Emergency to allow the territory accuse to resources to protect the health and safety of residents.

Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty explained the evacuation was ordered so residents had time to leave by roads, with flight evacuations to begin Thursday.

"I can appreciate that everybody wants to be on the first fight out, but please follow the instructions so everyone can evacuate in a timely manner," she said.

"We don't want to cause congestion by having people come who are not supposed to be there."

The city was ordered to evacuate during a summer that saw hundreds of wildfires on the other side of the country create mass plumes of smoke and smog that blanketed the skies of the eastern United States and which wafted across the Atlantic Ocean, impacting Europe.

In the United States, Hawaii is still fighting fires that turned the historic city of Lahaina to cinders, resulting in a growing death toll that as of Wednesday night stood at 111 with hundreds more missing.

"We're all tired of the word unprecedented, yet there is no other way to describe this situation in the Northwest Territories," Northwest Territories Premier Caroline Cochrane said in a statement.

"The country is watching, and our neighbors are keeping us in their thoughts and prayers."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Canadian Armed Forces has been mobilized to provide "whatever resources" are needed.

"To the people of the Northwest Territories: We're here with you," he said in a statement.