Thousands flee forest fires in Western Canada

Nearly 6,600 people have been forced to flee the surrounding areas of Fort McMurray in Alberta.

As of Tuesday evening, a raging wildfire was just 7.5 km from the city’s landfill.

The local government for the region has issued an evacuation alert for Fort McMurray and the surrounding area.

Alberta Wildfire reports that the blaze grew “significantly” to the northeast of Fort McMurray late Tuesday.

Named MWF017, Alberta Wildfire had it listed at 9,602 hectares early Wednesday.

Residents have described the sky as “looking very dark and orange.”

It’s taken the community years to recover after a wildfire dubbed “The Beast” devastated the region in 2016.

So this happened few hrs ago. Pray for Fort McMurray ❤️🙏🏻♥️ #fortmcmurraywildfire2024 pic.twitter.com/Ek3u7XBxMu

— Ivka (@ivetka_habs) May 14, 2024

Further to the west, two other infernos are creeping toward Fort Nelson in British Columbia.

A smaller one sits just two km off the towns perimeter, but a much more ferocious one that is roughly 25 times the size in area looms only five kilometers away.

Residents there have been ordered to evacuate too.

BC Wildfire has dubbed it the “Parker Lake Fire” and lists its size as 8,433 hectares.

READ MORE: Raging wildfires threatening western Canada force thousands to evacuate

Air quality warnings have been issued for both regions, but that could change later into the season.

Last year, Ontario was draped with several air quality warnings from Environment Canada as smoke drifted through the province and created a thick haze throughout the region.

READ MORE: Hamilton, Halton, Niagara under special air quality statement due to wildfire smoke