Residents of the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories have begun fleeing an approaching wildfire in long convoys while air evacuations were under way for those who could not leave by road.
It is the latest chapter in Canada’s worst fire season on record.
The fire was within 16 kilometres (10 miles) of the northern edge of Yellowknife, and people in the four areas of the city of 20,000 at highest risk were told to leave as soon as possible, fire information officer Mike Westwick said.
Residents in other areas should be out by noon on Friday, because strong north winds could push the fire towards the highway needed for evacuation, Mr Westwick said.
Although some rain was forecast for the region, first responders were taking no chances.
“I want to be clear that the city is not in immediate danger and there’s a safe window for residents to leave the city by road and by air,” Shane Thompson, a government minister for the Territories, told a news conference.
“Without rain, it is possible it will reach the city outskirts by the weekend.”
Authorities said the intensive care unit at a Yellowknife hospital would close within 24 hours as the Northwest Territories health authority starts to reduce its services, the Health and Social Services Authority said on its website.
It said in-patient units from Stanton Territorial Hospital would be moved in the coming days, if required, and that most long-term care patients had been transferred to institutions to the south.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was expected to convene an urgent meeting with ministers and senior officials on Thursday to discuss the evacuation.
Canada has seen a record number of wildfires this year – contributing to choking smoke in parts of the US – with more than 5,700 fires burning more than 137,000 square kilometres (53,000 square miles), according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
As of Thursday, 1,053 wildfires were burning across the country, more than half of them out of control.
In the Northwest Territories alone, 268 wildfires have already burned more than 21,000 square kilometres (8,100 square miles).
Officials said the evacuations from the Northwest Territories have so far been safe and orderly, and that evacuees from the capital who cannot find their own accommodation can get support in three centres in the nearby province of Alberta that were expected to open by noon on Thursday.
The closest of those centres is more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) by road from Yellowknife.
Only those without the option of leaving by road should register for the evacuation flights, officials added.
People who are immunocompromised or have a condition that puts them at higher risk were also encouraged to sign up.
“We’re all tired of the word unprecedented, yet there is no other way to describe this situation in the Northwest Territories,” premier Caroline Cochrane posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
She urged residents to obey emergency management officials, traffic control devices and posted speed limits.
“The country is watching, and our neighbours are keeping us in their thoughts and prayers.”
The evacuation order issued on Wednesday night applies to the city of Yellowknife and the neighbouring First Nations communities of Ndilo and Dettah.
Eight communities totalling nearly 6,800 people, or 15% of the Northwest Territories’ population, have already left, Mr Westwick said earlier in the day.
Indigenous communities have been hit hard by the wildfires, which threaten important cultural activities such as hunting, fishing and gathering native plants.
The US has also seen devastating wildfires, including one on the Hawaiian island of Maui, which killed more than 100 people and destroyed a historic town.
Rural areas near California’s border with Oregon were placed under evacuation orders on Wednesday after gusty winds from a thunderstorm sent a lightning-sparked wildfire racing through national forest lands, authorities said.
