Exception permit in Canada after fires – Sydsvenskan

Fires in Canada have destroyed a record 136,000 square kilometers of forest this year, the equivalent of the provinces of Lapland and Norrbotten combined. The previous record was set in 1995 when nearly 71,000 square kilometers of forests were destroyed.

During Tuesday, the country saw more than 1,000 active fires, of which nearly 700 were out of control.

In the Northwest Territories in the northwest of the country, authorities have declared a state of emergency. During Tuesday, four wildfires surrounded the regional capital, Yellowknife, where about 20,000 people live.

Portions of the city’s population should prepare for a possible evacuation if the snakes infest, warned Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alte. At least one hospital has already transferred patients to hospitals in other cities that are in the pipeline.

And in the town of High River, south of the district, most of the 3,500 residents were evacuated because of the fire risk.

For the roughly 500 people who remain, many of them very elderly, the possibilities for evacuation are running out. The fire has cut phone lines and there is no longer any way to alert those still in town, according to High River Mayor Candace Jameson.