6,600 evacuated in wildfire-hit Canada

Ottawa, May 15 (IANS) Up to 6,600 residents have been evacuated in Canada's western province of Alberta due to a raging wildfire, local media reported.

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo issued the evacuation order Tuesday afternoon after declaring a state of local emergency, CBC News reported.

The evacuation order is in effect for the neighbourhoods of Beacon Hill, Abasand, Prairie Creek and Grayling Terrace. Several areas in Fort McMurray are being evacuated to make way for firefighters, Xinhua news agency reported.

All residents in the evacuation zone were ordered to leave by 4 p.m. Mountain Time (2200 GMT), the municipality said.

According to CBC News, Jody Butz, the regional fire chief, said that the order would affect up to 6,600 people in the evacuation zone.

Local roads and highways were choked with vehicles Tuesday afternoon as residents fled south, the report said.

According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, a total of 134 fires were actively burning nationwide on Tuesday, with 43 fires categorised as out of control.

The Canadian government warned that above-normal temperatures nationwide could lead to greater wildfire risks.

Canada's wildfire season in 2023 is the most destructive on record. According to the Canadian National Fire Database, there were 7,131 fires recorded nationwide in 2023, burning a record 1,72,03,625 hectares of land.