Wildfires in Western Canada spark evacuation orders, air quality concerns

The season’s first major wildfire continued to spread to roughly 10,000ha across Western Canada on May 12 as the authorities issued an evacuation order for a community in British Columbia and warned of poor air quality across provinces.

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In British Columbia, thousands of residents in the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality and Fort Nelson First Nation were evacuated as the nearby blaze spread to 4,136ha.

Fort Nelson First Nation, 7km from the town, also issued an evacuation order for Fontas, an indigenous community.

Northern Rockies Regional Municipality Mayor Rob Fraser in a TV interview said most of the 3,500 residents in and around Fort Nelson had been evacuated.

Across the border in Alberta, residents of Fort McMurray, an oil hub that faced extensive damage from wildfires in 2016, were asked to prepare to leave.