Canada is evacuating residents of the provincial capital of Yellowknife and other small communities amid wildfires that have brewed dangerously, threatening to engulf homes across large swathes of the Northwest Territories.

Air evacuations were scheduled to begin Wednesday in the city of Yellowknife, home to about 20,000 people.

The Northwest Territories government issued an evacuation notice on Wednesday, asking residents in the most vulnerable parts to leave immediately. Residents of other areas were given until noon Friday to evacuate.

Evacuation orders have been issued for Yellowknife, as well as nearby First Nations communities including Ndilo and Dettah.

So far, no fatalities have been reported in the Yellowknife fire, but several structures have been destroyed.

Authorities said they were beginning a phased evacuation and people who have the ability to leave by road should do so, while air travel should be reserved for those who cannot evacuate by other means, especially those with weakened immune systems or high health risks.

“I want to make it clear that the city is not in immediate danger and that there is a safe window for residents to leave the city by road and by air,” said Shane Thompson, minister for government for the Territories.

The wildfires, currently located about 17 km (10 miles) outside the city, are raging unabated, raising fears that the outskirts of the city could be affected by wildfires if rain does not arrive. not soon.

However, if it doesn’t rain, Thompson said the fire could encroach on the outskirts of town over the weekend.

“There is a risk for the city of Yellowknife. Our team, in conjunction with the City of Yellowknife, is doing everything possible to slow the growth of this fire and protect the community,” NWT Fire said.

In the event of reduced visibility due to smoke, people leaving Yellowknife via the highway will be escorted through the active fire area.

Crews were working to evacuate Hay River, a community of about 3,000 people on Great Slave Lake, by bus or plane late Wednesday as the blaze loomed.

“Hay River saw the fire south of its community move closer to town today,” Fire Information Officer Mike Westwick said at a Wednesday evening news conference.

“We saw very active shooting in that area and it was moving fast.”

More than 200 wildfires have already ravaged a large swath of the Northwest Territories, contributing to a national tally of 1,067 active wildfires across Canada, including 230 in the Northwest Territories, as of Wednesday .

Canada is going through its worst wildfire season this year, pushed by record global temperatures due to the man-made climate crisis and a confluence of weather factors that have seen smoke envelope North America and transform New York in a chimney, reaching Europe. .

Western Canada is grappling with a heat wave that broke 19 daily heat records on Tuesday and could further exacerbate wildfires.

The fires have already ravaged more than 21,000 square kilometers of land, affecting parts of nearly all 13 Canadian provinces and territories this year, as firefighters struggled to control the blaze for months, now spreading unabated to other regions.

Additional reports by agencies