People walk to a Royal Canadian Air Force transport plane while being evacuated from an approaching wildfire in Hay River, Northwest Territories, Canada August 14, 2023.
“We are working closely with the Government of the Northwest Territories to ensure communities have the support they need," Canadian federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan said in a statement.
Yellowknife is the capital of the Northwest Territories and sits 450 km (280 miles) south of the Arctic Circle.
Over the weekend, residents of most communities in the South Slave region of the Northwest Territories, situated along the Alberta border, were ordered to evacuate.
Northwest Territories has so far had 265 wildfires this year, much higher than its 10-year annual average of 185.
Persons:
Harjit Sajjan, Rebecca Alty, Ismail Shakil, Jyoti Narayan, David Ljunggren, Alistair Bell
Organizations:
Royal Canadian Air Force, Canadian Forces, REUTERS Acquire, Canada's Northwest Territories, Government of, Emergency Preparedness, Northwest, CBC News, Thomson
Locations:
Hay River, Northwest Territories, Canada, City, Yellowknife Follow OTTAWA, Yellowknife, Alberta, Enterprise, Territories, Ottawa, Bengaluru