Residents are fleeing Yellowknife, Canada, on Highway 3 after being ordered to evacuate on Wednesday due to a wildfire approaching the city.

Pat Kane/Reuters

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Pat Kane/Reuters

Residents are fleeing Yellowknife, Canada, on Highway 3 after being ordered to evacuate on Wednesday due to a wildfire approaching the city.

Pat Kane/Reuters

Some 20,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes in Yellowknife, the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories, and surrounding areas as the Behchoko/Yellowknife wildfire burns out of control within 10 miles outside of town. More than 230 active fires threaten other towns and villages in the region.

The evacuation order was issued Wednesday by the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, forcing residents of Yellowknife and Ingraham Trail to flee their homes and businesses by car and plane. Residents of the First Nations communities of N’Dilo and Dettah have also been ordered to evacuate. Authorities told residents they had until noon Friday to evacuate, and that without rain, hell could reach the area by the weekend.

Wildfires outside Yellowknife, the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories, seen from space on Tuesday. On Thursday, the fires were less than 10 miles outside of town.

NASA/Michala Garrison

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NASA/Michala Garrison

Wildfires outside Yellowknife, the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories, seen from space on Tuesday. On Thursday, the fires were less than 10 miles outside of town.

NASA/Michala Garrison

THE government update reads: ‘These fires remain out of control’, and starting Tuesday, the fires around Yellowknife could be seen from space.

Air tankers flew missions throughout Wednesday night to fight the blaze, according to the government’s environment and climate change department. Fire crews did their best to douse hot spots, while others tried to protect shacks and other structures around Highway 3, the main road west of Yellowknife. In the city itself, authorities are taking protective measures, including turning on sprinklers and creating fuel cuts.

The images of the fire are heartbreaking. Photos and videos appearing on social media platforms show bumper-to-bumper traffic as residents try to flee the area. Others show vehicles driving along the highway engulfed in smoke, with smoldering trees lining the roads as they head for safety.

A screenshot of the fires by Instagram user Kimberly Benito shows evacuees traveling by car on highways engulfed in smoke.

@kimmbenito/Screenshot by NPR

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@kimmbenito/Screenshot by NPR

A screenshot of the fires by Instagram user Kimberly Benito shows evacuees traveling by car on highways engulfed in smoke.

@kimmbenito/Screenshot by NPR

“Hoping for the best but prepared for the worst”

Kimberly Benito is an international student from the Philippines studying online at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology while living in Yellowknife for a year. She said it was the first time she had seen a forest fire in person.

“Last week I was looking out the window and seeing how orange/smoky the sky was and it was really scary,” Benito told NPR.

“Hoping for the best but preparing for the worst,” Benito posted to him. instagram story on Wednesday while packing a box of his belongings.

She took Highway 3 out of town to Behchoko, about 65 miles northwest. Traffic was halted for about an hour and a half as authorities had to escort cars through dangerous areas, she said. Before leaving town, she refueled, filling her tank as well as two jerrycans, as she had heard that gas stations along the way were blocked.

“What entertained us during traffic/stops was seeing that most of the cars with us had their pets with them,” Benito said. “It was heartwarming to see Canadians treating their pets like family.”

She too had a four-legged friend in the car, her dachshund puppy named Bruno.

Benito drove overnight and had almost reached Edmonton – 900 miles from Yellowknife – Thursday afternoon en route to Calgary, which is still 180 miles away.

Evacuation flights available

The evacuation order says those who cannot leave by car can sign up for evacuation flights, as well as those who are immunocompromised or have high-risk health conditions. Those flights were due to start taking off at 1 p.m. today, the order says, and passengers can take only one carry-on bag.

Officials are discouraging attempts to evacuate by boat to nearby islands, saying air quality will decline as the fires get closer.

Municipal Affairs Minister Shane Thompson said emergency state Tuesday to allow the territory to acquire and deploy desperately needed resources to fight the fires.

“We find ourselves in a crisis situation and our government is using every tool available to help,” Thompson said in a news release Tuesday.

Yellowknife is the traditional homeland of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, but was founded in 1934 as a gold mining town, according to the city ​​website. It became the capital of the Northwest Territories in 1967 and is now recognized as a center of cultural, economic and government services for the Northwest Territories. It is also a great place to see the Northern Lights.

The town returned to mining after the discovery of diamonds in the area in 1991 and has since opened three mines within a short flight of the town. According to the majority owner of the mine, the DeBeers Group.