The Parker Lake wildfire glows in an aerial photograph taken by a B.C. Emergency Health Services crew member through the window of an airplane evacuating patients from nearby Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada May 10, 2024.Andrei Axenov/BCEHS/Reuters
Warm weather and tinder-dry conditions are fuelling wildfires in Western Canada, forcing thousands of people out of their homes and putting others on notice to be prepared to leave quickly.
Officials in British Columbia warned on Monday that the next 48 hours are crucial as firefighters work to keep a blaze from overwhelming the town of Fort Nelson and the nearby First Nations reserve. Uncontained wildfires are also spreading in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, some of which have led to power outages and highway closings.
Madison Irvine is one of nearly 5,000 people who have been ordered to evacuate as the Parker Lake wildfire roars just 2.5 kilometres west of Fort Nelson. She said she had an uneasy feeling before the official evacuation order was given on Friday. Winds were howling outside, she said, and family members had called to tell her that smoke was choking parts of the city as the fire raced closer.
“I just started packing stuff, grabbed some people and I left before the actual alert even came out,” she said. Ms. Irvine drove about 430 kilometres south to stay with family in Doig River, which on Monday came under an evacuation order from the First Nation. She is now making plans to go elsewhere.
Canadian fire officials have warned that this season could be even worse than last year, during which a record 18.5 million hectares of land was scorched as wildfires forced the evacuation of about 230,000 people. Several provinces, with their own firefighting resources stretched thin, required international help to battle the 2023 wildfires, with recruits from the United States, Australia and Brazil among other places providing aid.
Some provinces are already relying on outside help. In Manitoba, where the largest blaze has grown to more than 31,000 hectares, air tankers from Saskatchewan have been helping and 10 additional fire crews are coming from Ontario. B.C. officials have said they currently have their own situation under control but can call on other provinces for help quickly.
B.C. Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma said during a press conference on Monday that the Parker Lake fire, which started last Friday, is now more than 5,280 hectares in size.
“We are facing some extremely challenging conditions up in the north,” she said, adding that it is not unusual to see evacuation orders this early in the fire season. “I will say, however, that it is extremely uncommon for us to have so many people on an evacuation order at this time.”
Approximately 4,700 people were told to leave their homes because of the wildfire in the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, which includes the town of Fort Nelson and the Fort Nelson First Nation. Ms. Ma said that additional alerts affecting about 80 other properties have been upgraded to evacuation orders.
Cliff Chapman, director of operations for BC Wildfire Service, said fire crews are anticipating winds reaching 30 kilometres an hour from the west, which could impair firefighting efforts on the ground. He said their focus is on protecting structures and reinforcing fire guards using heavy equipment and air support.
There are nearly 70 personnel from BC Wildfire attacking the Parker Lake blaze, in addition to 19 helicopters and four structure-protection specialists.
Ben Wall, another evacuee from Fort Nelson, said his family was in the middle of cooking dinner last Friday when the order to evacuate was given. He said it took them two hours to gather their essentials before they started their journey to a campground north of Fort St. John.
“The sense of helplessness and limbo is the biggest thing,” said Mr. Wall, who added that about 10 families are depending on him for help, as he runs a general contracting business that includes towing and trucking. “It’s a lot of mixed thoughts because you don’t know where you’re going to be when this is all over.”
In neighbouring Alberta, a major fire has been holding steady about 16 kilometres southeast of Fort McMurray. Officials have said there is “no immediate risk” to the communities in the region but the threat harks back to the 2016 wildfire known as “The Beast” that devastated the city.
Christie Tucker, a spokesperson for Alberta Wildfire, said that the wildfire currently near Fort McMurray had grown to about 6,500 hectares in size but that light rain on Monday could help get it under control.
Six crews of firefighters, with the support of 13 helicopters, were battling the blaze on Monday, according to officials from the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. The municipality, on social media, said night-vision-equipped helicopters dumped water on the fire overnight and heavy equipment was being used to establish a fire guard on the northeast side.
Ms. Tucker said the weather isn’t as favourable in Northern Alberta, specifically in the Grande Prairie area where a 1,400-hectare fire is burning four kilometres outside of Teepee Creek. The County of Grande Prairie has issued an evacuation order and so has the Municipal District of Greenview for parts of its community.