More than 13,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes as 78 wildfires burn in Alberta, 19 of which are out of control, according to provincial emergency officials.
An out of control 1,500 hectare fire has caused thousands to flee Drayton Valley and the surrounding rural area.
An evacuation order was issued Thursday night, ordering more than 7,000 residents to leave the town about 140 kilometers west of Edmonton.
Evacuees should travel to Edmonton and register at the Expo Centre.
In the north of the province, the Alberta government says a 4,400-hectare wildfire has destroyed 20 homes, an RCMP detachment and a store in the community of Fox Lake.
In a video posted to Facebook Thursday night, the chief of the Little Red River Cree Nation said he thinks everyone has left the community, which is about 550 kilometers north of Edmonton.
The residents were taken away by boats and a barge.
Alberta Wildfire’s Christie Tucker says the province helped evacuate 115 people by helicopter from Fox Lake.
The communities of John D’Or Prairie, High Level and the Métis Settlement of Paddle Prairie are supporting the evacuees.
Much of central Alberta is under a fire ban after unseasonably hot and windy spells.
The Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU) has announced that 32 Quebec forest firefighters will fly to Alberta on Saturday morning to lend a hand to the teams on site. Two CL-415s and their crews will also be deployed to help fight the fires.
SOPFEU indicates in a press release that due to the recent precipitation in Quebec and the snow cover still present in the more northern regions, the organization can lend resources to the other provinces without affecting its intervention capacity in the territory. Quebec.
Other fires in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is also grappling with recent fires that are believed to have been started by individuals.
Residents of La Loche and the Clearwater River Dene Nation have been forced to leave as a 266-hectare forest fire burns through the area.
Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency vice-president of operations Steve Roberts said the forecast was warm and dry for the next 72 hours and there was a high risk of new fires.
Roberts said all of the fires currently burning in the province are human-caused and will be investigated.
He said there were 13 active wildfires in the province, six of which were out of control.
At least 147 people were evacuated from La Loche and arrived in Regina, but an unknown number of people also left on their own, Roberts said, adding that no one was injured.
The mayoress of La Loche, Georgina Jolibois, said that no houses had burned, but that sheds housing hunting equipment had burned.
Mme Jolibois, who stayed put, said if the fire doesn’t get bigger on Friday, the community could be fine.
Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency personnel brought food, bottled water, diapers and blankets to dozens of evacuees arriving at the downtown hotel.