Forest fires in the West | Hundreds of blazes

In addition to the wildfire consuming the town of Jasper, other blazes are raging across Western Canada. In several regions of British Columbia and Alberta, thousands of people have had to be evacuated.

Semo Lake Complex (Alberta)

The Semo Lake Complex is a cluster of six fires, the largest of which has burned an area of ​​960 km^⁠2Two other fires are raging just north of this one, and between them have burned an area of ​​more than 800 km2.^⁠2These fires have led to the evacuation of two First Nations representing a total population of nearly 5,600 people over the past two weeks.

Fort McMurray (Alberta) region

In the Fort McMurray area, more than a dozen wildfires are raging. One of them, north of the city, is out of control and already stretches more than 1,000 km.^⁠2On July 18, the 400 members of the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation, located south of the city, were ordered to evacuate because of a cluster of wildfires threatening their reserve. The “complex” includes 17 wildfires, three of which are considered out of control.

Jasper (Alberta)

About 20,000 park visitors and 5,000 Jasper residents were forced to flee Monday night due to two wildfires. “No one expected this fire to happen so large and so quickly,” Alberta Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis said. Nearly half of the town of Jasper was destroyed by the flames.

Shetland Creek (British Columbia)

The Shetland Creek fire in the Thompson-Nicola region has forced several communities to evacuate since July 19. The blaze, still out of control, is currently nearly 225 km across^⁠2It destroyed about 20 structures in the Venables Valley, including at least six homes.

Antler Creek (British Columbia)

The 143-km Antler Creek Fire²was the cause of an evacuation order Sunday for Barkerville, Bowron Lake Provincial Park and the community of Wells. It remains out of control today. Buildings in Barkerville, an iconic gold rush town and one of the Cariboo region’s top tourist attractions, are being hosed down continuously in an attempt to keep them safe from the flames — some are more than 150 years old.

With information from The Canadian Press