Firefighters have kept wildfires at bay near the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories as well as a threatened city in British Columbia, though no one is claiming victory as forecasters warn that drier and windier weather is coming.
“But I want to be clear, a little bit of rain doesn’t mean it’s safe to come back home,” he said. Others warned that incoming hot weather would make the battle more challenging.
On Saturday, officials said the escape route out of Yellowknife was safe, for the time being. About 2,600 people remained in town, including emergency teams, firefighters, utility workers and police officers, along with some residents who refused to leave. “We knew it was only a matter of time,” said Morritt, who had been following media updates and satellite images of the approaching wildfires.
All of British Columbia was under a state of emergency Saturday. About 35,000 people had been ordered to evacuate wildfire zones across the province and an additional 30,000 people were under an evacuation alert, meaning they should be prepared to leave, Premier David Eby announced. He said he was restricting non-essential travel to fire-affected areas to free up accommodations such as hotels, motels and campgrounds for displaced residents and firefighters.
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