![This screengrab from a video provided by Jordan Straker shows vehicles driving on the freeway as people evacuate from Yellowkife, Northwest Territories, Canada, on August 16, 2023. Thousands ordered to flee wildfires advancing on one of the largest cities in Canada's far north crammed into a local airport on August 17, 2023, to board emergency evacuation flights, as convoys snaked south to safety on the only open highway. The order late on August 16, 2023, to evacuate Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories marked the latest chapter of a terrible summer for wildfires in Canada, with tens of thousands of people forced to leave their homes and vast swathes of land scorched. (Photo by Jordan Straker / UGC / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE 聳 MANDATORY CREDIT 芦 AFP PHOTO / Jordan Straker 禄 - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS 聳 DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS [ NO ARCHIVE ]](/files/2023/08/Canada-wildfire-620x352.jpg)
This screengrab from a video provided by Jordan Straker shows vehicles driving on the freeway as people evacuate from Yellowkife, Northwest Territories, Canada, on August 16, 2023. Thousands ordered to flee wildfires advancing on one of the largest cities in Canada鈥檚 far north crammed into a local airport on August 17, 2023, to board emergency evacuation flights, as convoys snaked south to safety on the only open highway. The order late on August 16, 2023, to evacuate Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories marked the latest chapter of a terrible summer for wildfires in Canada, with tens of thousands of people forced to leave their homes and vast swathes of land scorched. (Photo by Jordan Straker / UGC / AFP)
The order late Wednesday to evacuate Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories marked the latest chapter of a terrible summer for wildfires in Canada, with tens of thousands of people forced to leave their homes and vast swaths of land scorched.
Tiffany Champagne was one of many who crammed into the airport in Yellowknife awaiting flights 鈥� the first departing at 1:00 pm (1900 GMT).
鈥淚 have asthma and the wildfire smoke was making it increasingly difficult to do anything,鈥� Champagne, wearing a face mask, told public broadcaster CBC. 鈥淚鈥檓 just kind of mentally checked out at this point.鈥�
As of Thursday, more than 1,000 wildfires were burning in Canada, including about 230 in the Northwest Territories.
More than 20,000 residents of Yellowknife, the regional capital, have been given until noon Friday to leave.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all tired of the word unprecedented, yet there is no other way to describe this situation in the Northwest Territories,鈥� regional premier Caroline Cochrane said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty warned drivers being led out in kilometers-long convoys that the flames were skirting the edges of highways and they would encounter limited visibility as thick smoke turned the sky orange.
NW Territories environment minister Shane Thompson had warned late Wednesday: 鈥淲ithout rain, it is possible (the fire) will reach the city outskirts by the weekend.鈥�
鈥淰ery tough days ahead,鈥� the local fire service said on Thursday.
North鈥檚 largest ever evacuation
Crews scrambled to erect fire barriers as one blaze got to within 16 kilometers (9 miles) of Yellowknife. Water bombers were seen flying low over the city, and swooping in to fill up at a nearby lake.
Resident Sylvia Webster said 鈥渁 lot of trees were cut down and sprinkler lines were set up around the city鈥� to bolster its defenses.
鈥淲e might still lose everything, but that鈥檚 okay,鈥� she told AFP. 鈥淎s long as our loved ones are safe, we can move on from there.鈥�
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau interrupted his summer vacation Thursday to convene an incident response group.
Several military aircraft have already been dispatched, along with more than 120 soldiers to help beat back the flames.
Yellowknife declared an emergency earlier this week, and that was soon expanded across the huge northern territory as strong winds stoked the flames.
Several towns and Indigenous communities were already under evacuation orders.
In what had already been declared the Northwest Territories鈥� largest-ever evacuation, the emptying of Yellowknife now means half the population of the near-Arctic territory will soon be displaced.
On Monday, the Canadian military started airlifting residents of smaller far-flung communities in the region to safety after roads were engulfed in flames.
For many, it was the second time in recent months that residents were forced to evacuate.
Images shared on social media and on Canadian television showed large swaths of blackened forests. Evacuees reported seeing abandoned vehicles and burned carcasses of wildlife, including bears, on roadsides.
Cars and trucks arrived at evacuation centers in Alberta 鈥� at least 1,150 kilometers away 鈥� with melted headlights and peeling paint.
鈥楥limate change refugees鈥�
Nadia Byrne, 24, considered turning back but worried she might run out of gas and become stranded.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 really know where to go鈥� Everyone鈥檚 just kind of scrambling right now,鈥� she told AFP.
Evacuee Julie Downes, reached by telephone, described big plumes of smoke along a 鈥済ridlocked highway.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 scary to say but myself and other northerners are now climate change refugees,鈥� she said.
Scientists say human-caused global warming is exacerbating natural hazards, making them both more frequent and more deadly.
The evacuation of Yellowknife is the second time a Canadian city has been cleared due to wildfires since 100,000 residents of Fort McMurray in Alberta鈥檚 oil and gas producing heartland were forced out in 2016.
More than 2,000 homes and businesses were destroyed in that blaze.
Earlier this year, suburbs of Halifax on the Atlantic coast were also evacuated.
Fires this season have spread across Canada with remarkable intensity, scorching 13.7 million hectares (33.9 million acres), according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Four people have died so far.