Fires in Canada force more than 35,000 people to abandon their homes

More than 35,000 people have had to abandon their homes in western Canada because of the wave of forest fires which threatens several cities in the west and north of the country, authorities estimate.

The seriousness of the situation in the country, where around 1,052 forest fires are active, led Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to convene the crisis cabinet for the second time in 48 hours, according to the Efe news agency.

The area hardest hit by the fires is central British Columbia, with the cities of West Kelowna and Kelowna, which have a combined population of 160,000, at risk.

According to Western British Columbia Premier David Eby, more than 35,000 people have already had to be evacuated from their homes and another 30,000 have been warned they may have to do the same at any time.

The high number of displaced people forced authorities on Saturday to ban tourism in the areas most affected by the fires, in order to free up space in hotels to accommodate people.

Yellowknife has become a ghost town since most of its 20,000 residents began fleeing following an evacuation order issued Wednesday evening, authorities said.

For days, long caravans of cars blocked the main highway and those who could not get on the road lined up to catch emergency flights out of the city.

About 2,600 people remained in the city, including emergency crews, firefighters, utility workers and police, as well as some residents who refused to leave, according to the Associated Press (AP) news agency. .

Alaric Cohen

"Freelance communicator. Hardcore web practitioner. Entrepreneur. Total student. Beer ninja."

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