Canada wildfire evacuees turned away from flights as pictures show mass exodus from major city

Residents race to meet Friday deadline for evacuation amid jammed highways and packed flights

Thousands of residents escaping the path of raging wildfires in Canada’s Northwest Territories before the Friday deadline are facing hours-long queues on roads with many turned away from packed flights.

Over 20,000 residents of the territorial capital Yellowknife and nearby areas were given time till 12 noon on Friday to evacuate their homes as relentless flames, part of a larger onslaught of wildfires that have ravaged vast expanses of the territory, inched closer.

Officials say the fire, which is moving slowly, is now just 15km (10 miles) away from northwest of the city and could reach the outskirts by Saturday if there is no rain.

Cars crowded the highways of the city as passengers were ordered to evacuate by road or by air on Thursday as concerns loomed that the roads could be cut off as the fire nears.

Officials assured there is enough time to evacuate, however, the chaos led to hours-long jams on roads with several passengers complaining that they were returned from flights which were already packed, BBC reported.

But by afternoon local time, only 400 people could be flown out of Yorkshire, Amy Kennedy, the government’s director of communications said.

Later, some 10 evacuation planes ferried about 1,500 people out of the city on Thursday and about 22 flights were due out on Friday, while scores of people left via road, authorities said.

Officials urged people who were returned to try again on Friday.

“We understand that this is deeply frustrating for those who have been in line for several hours and who will need to line up again tomorrow,” Ms Kennedy wrote.

Ms Kennedy said those with mobility issues and the immunocompromised were among those who had been moved up the queue.

Evacuees also raised concerns that flight carriers were inflating prices in the face of increased demand.

Later, Canada’s two largest airlines said they were adding flights from Yellowknife and capping fares following outrage on social media.

Around 65 per cent of the Northwest Territories’ 46,000 population is supposed to be evacuated.

Thick smoke began to blanket Yellowknife on Thursday as water bombers flew low over the city. However, light rain and winds slowed down the fire a little, which advanced only by a kilometre on Thursday amid concerns of the situation worsening over the next two days.

“Very tough days ahead, with two days of northwest to west-northwest winds on Friday and Saturday, which would push fire towards Yellowknife,” the territorial fire service said in a statement on Facebook.

Defence minister Bill Blair, speaking to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC) on Thursday, said the federal government was closely monitoring the evacuations and was prepared to quickly airlift residents if land routes get cut off.

Yellowknife mayor Rebecca Alty said special teams were clear-cutting trees close to the city in an effort to prevent flames from spreading. They also planned to use fire retardant while ensuring sprinkler systems are working, she told the CBC.

Canada is experiencing its worst wildfire season this year, with more than 1,000 active fires burning across the country, including 265 in the Northwest Territories. So far about 134,000 square km (52,000 square miles) of land in Canada have been scorched, more than six times a 10-year average.

Experts say worsening climate crisis and record-shattering global temperatures have exacerbated the wildfire problem. Much of Canada has seen abnormally high temperatures and dry conditions along with the rest of the northern hemisphere this year.

Additional reporting by agencies