An evacuation order has been issued for the city of Yellowknife. All 20-thousand residents of the capital of the Northwest Territories have been ordered to leave as a wildfire rages now 17 kilometres away. Five other communities in the path of wildfires were ordered to evacuate earlier this week. In Saskatchewan there are now 27 active wildfires and none of them are classified as “not contained”.  There have been 404 fires so far this year in Saskatchewan and the five-year average is 336.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with the Premier of the Northwest Territories Wednesday to talk about the current wildfire situation, which includes the threat to those in Yellowknife and the Evacuation Orders in place for Fort Smith, Enterprise, Jean Marie River, Hay River, K’atl’odeeche First Nation, and the surrounding area. The Government of the Northwest Territories declared a State of Emergency on Tuesday. Premier Caroline Cochrane states that thousands of residents have fled their homes and more than 20,000 square kilometres have burned.

A news release from the Prime Minister’s Office says Trudeau reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to provide ongoing assistance. The immediate needs from the government are the provision of Canadian Armed Forces personnel, aircraft, logistics, planning and coordination, among other resources.

In British Columbia with a heat spell and dry winds, there are 362 active fires, with seven new fires in the last 24 hours. A social media post from the BC Wildfire Service says a dry cold front is expected tomorrow, bringing instability, dry lightning and strong gusting winds.