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3mo ago

Canada Battles Spreading Wildfires as Over 17,000 Evacuate in Western Provinces

Sustained heat and drought have fueled dozens of out-of-control blazes that prompted state of emergency declarations and spurred military evacuation operations.

This photo provided by the Manitoba government shows wildfires in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Manitoba government via AP)
This photograph shows debris and the rest of the village of Blatten now submerged by the obstructed river Lonza, after the huge Birch Glacier collapsed and a massive landslide that threw tons of rock, ice and scree down the mountainside and into the valley below, in Wiler, in the Swiss Alps, on May 31, 2025.  (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
The Kiskatinaw River wildfire burns south of Dawson Creek, B.C. in this Wednesday, May 28, 2025 handout photo.
A Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) patrol vehicle is parked as a water bomber flies over the plume of smoke from a wildfire near The Pas, Manitoba, Canada May 27, 2025. Manitoba RCMP/Handout via REUTERS

Overview

  • More than 17,000 residents have fled wildfires in Manitoba, with thousands more evacuated in Saskatchewan and Alberta as nearly two dozen fires burn unchecked.
  • Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are all under states of emergency, with provincial authorities reporting over 180 active wildfires across Western Canada.
  • The Canadian Armed Forces are airlifting evacuees from remote Indigenous communities while firefighters from the U.S. and other provinces bolster local crews.
  • Smoke from the blazes has crossed into the U.S. Midwest, triggering air quality alerts in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
  • Forecasters say no significant rainfall is expected in the coming days, raising concerns that hot, dry conditions will allow the fires to continue spreading.