Evacuees from Yellowknife are greeted with the Aurora Borealis as they arrive to a free campsite provided by the community in High Level, Alta., Friday, Aug. 18, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Bill Braden
YELLOWKNIFE – Some 20,000 people from Yellowknife and thousands more from other communities in the Northwest Territories have been ordered to leave due to nearby wildfires. Meanwhile, a significant number of homes have gone up in flames as a wildfire burns in West Kelowna in British Columbia’s interior. Here’s a look at the fires by the numbers.
Yellowknife
Size of the wildfire that is about 15 kilometres from Yellowknife: 1,669 square kilometres.
Population of Yellowknife: 20,000
Residents ordered to evacuate: all of Yellowknife and thousands in other N.W.T. communities.
Number of wildfires burning in the N. W. T: 236.
West Kelowna
Size of the fire that has spread around West Kelowna: 68 square kilometres
Population of West Kelowna: 38,000
Number of West Kelowna properties ordered to evacuate: 2,462.
Number of West Kelowna properties on evacuation alert: 4,801.
Properties damaged: a “significant” number.
Number of wildfires burning in B.C.: 377.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2023.
