Canada Wildfires Force Evacuation Of 17,000 Residents From Manitoba; Smoke Reaches Parts Of USA

On Thursday, Canada’s Saskatchewan province declared a wildfire emergency. It became the second Canadian province, after neighbouring Manitoba, to do so. The wildfire in Central and Western Canada is spreading rapidly and Manitoba has ordered more than 17,000 residents to evacuate their homes. Scroll on to know more about this.

Canada Wildfires Prompt Evacuation Of 17,000 Residents

According to NDTV, Manitoba and Saskatchewan declared a state of emergency after wildfires continued to spread throughout the provinces in Canada. The authorities have asked several small towns and Indigenous communities to evacuate as the provinces face their worst start to a wildfire season in years. Local authorities in Manitoba urged thousands of people in northern and eastern parts of the province to evacuate on Wednesday.

As per reports, the residents were forced to go through a long drive on jammed roads. The Canadian Air Force planes were also deployed to help evacuate people. People have been put up at soccer fields and community centres for safety purposes.

So far, nearly 494,000 acres of forests have been scorched in just the past month in Manitoba. This is alarming as it is three times the annual average for the past five years!

The wildfires are quite out of control right now. The smoke from the active blazes in Manitoba is also drifting into the United States. Many reports show that wildfire smoke, through parts of the Midwest over several days, is now blanketing part of the USA. The smoke is expected to reach the cities of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Detroit, Michigan; Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Chicago, Illinois. Authorities have warned that this smoke can potentially impact air quality for millions.

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160+ Active Fires Blaze Central & Western Parts Of Canada

According to several reports, there are around 163 active wildfires in Canada right now. What is to be noted here is that, on Thursday, 84 of these fires were “out of control” by the authorities in Alberta, Ontario, and British Columbia. Wildfires in Canada’s Alberta have also prompted a temporary shutdown of some oil and gas production. Reportedly, residents of one small town have also been evacuated.

Reportedly, Canada had its worst wildfire season on record in 2023. The country burned over 42m acres of its land back then.

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This is quite worrisome. While wildfires are common in Canada, it has become more frequent and intense in recent years. We hope that the concerned authorities can minimise the damage and control the situation soon.

Cover Image Courtesy: X/@MadelnCanada