Extreme Wildfire in Canada Prompts State of Emergency, Evacuation for 29,000 People

A state of emergency is declared by authorities, and 29,000 people are up for evacuation as catastrophic extreme wildfires spread throughout Canada.

Evacuation for 29,000 People

More than 29,000 people have been forced to leave their homes as more than 100 wildfires rage throughout Alberta, Canada, in what officials are calling an unprecedented crisis for the province.

According to Christie Tucker, Lead of the Wildfire Information Unit, 16 new fires have started in Alberta just in the previous 24 hours.

31 of the 108 active wildfires in the province were blazing "out of control," according to Tucker, who said that firefighters were combating them.

Firefighters don't frequently see such a wide area destroyed, and this kind of furious wildfire activity is unusual this early in the year, according to Tucker on Sunday.

However, Tucker claims that a combination of extremely dry circumstances, unusually hot weather, and strong winds have contributed to this exceptionally extreme wildfire activity.

Extreme Wildfire in Canada

According to Yahoo News, this year's wildfires in Alberta have consumed a total of 375,000 hectares, or approximately 926,000 acres, and recent fires have consumed a significant amount of land in the last few days.

Crews have made their way from Quebec and Ontario to help the firefight, and more firefighters and resources are being sent to Alberta from around the nation to combat the spreading fires, according to Tucker.

Gains were made on Sunday when sporadic showers around the province allowed firefighters access to places they previously couldn't because of the severe behavior of wildfires.

Firefighters currently anticipate that lower temperatures and greater humidity will aid them in putting out the flames in the province's southern and central regions, but Tucker noted that difficult conditions still exist in the northern region.

Communities in Alberta have experienced some sweltering heat over the last week, with Edmonton, the province's capital, reaching 88 degrees Fahrenheit, in the midweek. This is more than 10 degrees hotter than normal.

According to CNN Meteorologist Robert Shackelford, the area has also had a dearth of precipitation, which may have contributed to Alberta's catastrophic fire conditions by drying out the ground and making fires harder to put out.

According to provincial officials, numerous routes in north and central Alberta are closed and several hospitals have been completely evacuated.

Wildfire EWF-031

Thousands of Albertans leave their homes to go to evacuation shelters, unsure of whether they would still have a place to live when the orders to leave are removed.

As of Sunday, a wildfire that has gotten out of control had consumed more than 16,300 hectares, or roughly 40,200 acres, in the Fox Lake neighborhood, according to the authorities.

The extent of the flames' destruction is yet unknown because firefighters are unable to completely estimate property loss due to the strong fire conditions and thick smoke, according to Blair.

Numerous structures have been damaged, according to officials, notably in the Fox Lake area where 56 firefighters are battling the blazes with heavy equipment and aircraft.

In Yellowhead County, where 8,000 residents were given the go-ahead for a rapid evacuation, many more have also been told to leave. According to CNN, the Little Red River Cree Nation received orders to evacuate an additional 3,600 people.

According to the Alberta Wildfire Status Dashboard, an additional out-of-control wildfire known as EWF-031 has scorched around 192,500 acres of land as it rages southeast of Yellowhead County's town of Edson.