By: Thomas I. Likness – NET/25 Eagle News Service
(Eagle News) — Out-of-control wildfires have prompted Canadian officials to evacuate thousands of people in northeastern British Columbia and northwestern Alberta.
Poor air quality and reduced visibility have forced the three-thousand residents of Fort Nelson, B-C and a nearby Indigenous community to flee their homes.
A fast-growing blaze has chewed its way through 42-hundred hectares of forest.
A tree that fell on a power line is believed to have started the fire.
The blaze knocked out telephone and internet service to Canada’s northern territories after it damaged a fiber line.
An ongoing drought has left the region tinder dry.
In neighboring Alberta, much of the province’s north has a very high or extreme risk of wildfires.
Evacuation alerts for several northern communities near Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray remained in effect Sunday.
Fort McMurray worries history may repeat
People living in the oil hub of Fort McMurray are on edge, fearing a repeat the 2016 wildfire that devastated the community.
That blaze destroyed some 2,400 homes.
An out-of-control blaze is burning just 16 kilometers from the city limits.
Thousands of residents in Fort McMurray and nearby communities have been put on an evacuation alert.
Mayor Sandy Bowman says the community is equipped to handle the fire danger.
“I know everyone’s feeling unsettled and stressed right now,” Bowman wrote on Facebook. “Our community knows all too well how this feels, but our past experience also means we are very well prepared to handle whatever comes our way.”
Air quality advisories have been issued for a large part of northern and central Alberta.
Several hundred kilometers south, in the Alberta capital of Edmonton, air quality is very poor.
Environment Canada rated it as 10+ on its 10-point scale.
Vulnerable people have been told to stay indoors.
Others have been advised to limit their time outside.
