CANADA: Thousands of people in western Canada have been forced to evacuate their houses after wildfires raged in some Alberta regions and rapid snowmelt caused floods in interior British Columbia.
As 78 fires raged in Alberta by Friday, more than 13,000 people were asked to evacuate. The Little Red River Cree Nation’s territory, comprised of three towns in the province’s north, was among the worst-hit places. The 1,458-hectare Fox Lake fire destroyed 20 residences and a police station.
Additionally, one late Thursday night, the entire 7,000-person population of Drayton Valley, 140 kilometres west of the provincial capital Edmonton, was instructed to leave.
Oil pipeline operator Pembina Pipeline Corp, which manages emergency response and incident management procedures, claimed that it activated these procedures and was “evaluating any current or anticipated operational impacts.” There were no reported impacts on gas and oil producers.
According to Christie Tucker, a manager of the information section for Alberta Wildfire, there have been 348 wildfires in Alberta this year, resulting in more than 25,000 hectares burning. At a press conference, Tucker said, “This is significantly more wildfire activity for this time of the year than we have monitored any time in the recent past,” adding that fires were predicted to get worse on Friday.
She said, “It will get hotter and windier, and we expect extreme wildfire patterns. Firefighters are ready today for what could be an extremely challenging day.”
In British Columbia, rivers, while bursting their banks, are washing through houses and forcing highway closures in numerous areas across the province’s interior, including Grand Forks and Cache Creek.
Western Canada had been experiencing a chilly spring up until last week. However, an unexpected onset of unusually high temperatures, now 10-15 C above average for early May in some locations, is triggering flooding and fires.
The British Columbian government warned residents to brace themselves for additional flooding over the weekend due to the expected heavy rain. “Hot temperatures in the Interior have increased snowmelt and caused more pressure on rivers and creeks,” the Ministry of Emergency Management stated.
The likelihood of flooding is projected to grow as rain and thundershowers are predicted for this Friday, May 5, and Saturday, May 6.
