OTTAWA (Reuters) – The northern Canadian city of Yellowknife has declared a state of local emergency to brace for potential risks from nearby wildfires, underscoring the unparalleled damage done by blazes so far this year.
The declaration, which gives authorities additional powers to respond to an emergency, was made as a precaution late on Monday and residents have not been put on an evacuation notice, city officials said in a statement.
“Residents should remain calm and ensure they are prepared in the event that the situation changes,” said Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty.
Yellowknife is the capital of the Northwest Territories, and with about 20,000 residents, it is one of the largest settlements in the sparsely populated north.
Wildfires have engulfed parts of nearly all 13 Canadian provinces and territories this year, forcing home evacuations, disrupting energy production, and drawing in federal as well as international firefighting resources.
More than 130,000 square kilometers (5,000 sq miles) of land have been scorched, the most on record for this stage in the season, and nearly 168,000 people have been forced to evacuate at some point this season.
Northwest Territories has so far had 265 wildfires this year, much higher than its 10-year annual average of 185, and several communities have been evacuated due to risks from blazes. Yellowknife is 450 km (280 miles) south of the Arctic Circle.
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa, editing by David Ljunggren and Alistair Bell)
