Raging wildfires in Alberta, Canada have forced 10,000 people out of their homes, and an overwhelming amount of smoke has infiltrated the air, leaving the sky an eerie orange, and making it difficult for people to breathe.
"This fight is going to be a tough one," said Devin Dreeshen, Alberta’s minister of agriculture and forestry. "The weather is not co-operating for the long-distance forecast for the next two weeks. It’s more of the same."
Federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says Alberta has asked for Canadian Forces assistance and the federal government has accepted the request.
"We began the day on Wednesday with approximately 5,500 evacuees and we currently have over 10,000," Dreeshen said in an update Thursday afternoon, after a day of hot temperatures and gusty winds led to the explosive growth of several blazes burning out-of-control
Goodale said the military will be ready to help airlift evacuees as needed, as well as transport supplies and provide medical assistance.
Forest fire season in Canada is already in full swing, with multiple communities under evacuation orders and thick smoke covering parts of Alberta, B.C. and northern Ontario.
In northern Alberta, tinder-dry conditions and intense heat have led to an explosive growth in wildfires, forcing about 10,000 people from their homes.
Trout Lake, Alta., a community about 300 km northeast of Grand Prairie, came under an evacuation order Friday morning. A 133,000-hectare fire is raging about 14 kilometres south of the community.
About 5,000 people from the nearby community of High Level, Alta., have been out of their homes for more than a week.
Several other communities in the region, including Wabasca, the Bigstone Cree Nation and Chipewyan Lake Village, have fallen under evacuation orders since Wednesday.
