More than 13,000 people have had to leave their homes due to the wave of fires that have been sweeping the Canadian province of Alberta in the west of the country for days and which rose to more than 100 active sources this Friday. More than a third are still out of control.
One of the most important evacuations took place in the city of Edson, which has a population of more than 8,000, due to the proximity of one of 37 outbreaks that have not yet been contained.
Canadian government officials are already considering 2023 as one of the worst years for wildfires in recent memory: since January, there have been 363 wildfires that have burned at least 25,000 hectares of land.
Stephen Lacroix, director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, has promised help to people who have “lost everything” to the blazes, which he described as a stark reminder of how unpredictable and powerful wildfires can be, according to Canadian newspaper The Star ‘Collected Statements’.