Fresh rain, which may be useful for rescuers to contain the fires, is expected in western Canada from Sunday, according to authorities who were facing 87 active fires on Saturday.
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More than 800,000 hectares have already burned in this province, which declared a state of emergency in early May and appealed for foreign aid.
“Scattered showers and thunderstorms” were already seen in the province of Alberta earlier in the day on Saturday, said Christie Tucker of the Alberta Wildfire Fire Department.
“Our forecasters are following a front that arrives from tomorrow in the province,” she said at a press conference, adding that it “should bring essential cool temperatures, humidity and even the rain”.
This meteorological phenomenon should last “a few days”, indicated Mme Tucker.
“It all depends on where exactly this rain will fall… But in the area where we are expecting it, it should make a big difference” for the 2,500 firefighters who are battling 87 forest and brush fires, 23 of which were still considered Saturday evening. not mastered.
On Saturday, more than 10,000 people in Alberta were still affected by evacuation orders.
According to Cyndee Evans, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the situation in Western Canada remains “volatile”.
This weekend, temperatures were again above seasonal norms, around 28 degrees. And this holiday weekend in May is usually the one with the most human-caused forest fires, according to the emergency services, due in particular to the influx of Canadian campers.
Parks in the province of Alberta in Western Canada have therefore been closed to the public to reduce the risk of new outbreaks of fire.
In recent years, western Canada has been regularly hit by extreme weather events, the intensity and frequency of which are increased by global warming.