Thousands of Canadians have been forced out of their homes as raging wildfires in parts of Alberta led to record-hot weather in the Western part of the country. More than 13,000 people were under evacuation orders in Alberta by Friday as 78 fires burned. Little River Cree Nation was among the worst hit areas, it comprises three communities in the north of the province, where 1,458 hectare Fox fire consumed 20 homes and the police station, reported news agency Reuters.
On Thursday night, the entire 7,000-strong population of Drayton Valley, which is 140 kilometres west of Edmonton's provincial capital was ordered to evacuate.
Reuters quoted the Pembina Pipeline Corp (which operates oil-gathering pipelines in the region) as saying that emergency response was activated and the incident management process was "evaluating any current or anticipated operational impacts".
No impacts on oil and gas producers were reported.
Christie Tucker, an information unit manager for Alberta Wildfire said that there have been 348 wildfires in the region this year, and more than 25,000 hectares of land were burned.
Tucker warned on Friday that fires are expected to intensify and said "This is significantly more wildfire activity for this time of year than we have seen any time in the recent past." She added, "It's going to get hotter, it's going to get windier and we are expecting some extreme wildfire behaviour. Firefighters are at the ready today for what could be an extremely challenging day."
In British Columbia, rivers overflowed their banks, destroying houses and necessitating the closure of multiple highways in interior areas like Cache Creek and Grand Forks.
Western Canada had been experiencing a chilly spring up until last week. However, an unexpected onset of erratically high temperatures, which are now 10-15 degrees above average for early May in some locations, is triggering both fires and flooding.
The British Columbian government warned residents to brace themselves for further flooding over the weekend due to the heavy rain.
The Ministry of Emergency Management in a statement said, "Warm temperatures in the Interior have accelerated snowmelt and caused increased pressure on rivers and creeks. The situation is expected to worsen as rainfall and thundershowers are forecast for Friday, May 5, and Saturday, May 6, which increases the likelihood of flooding," reported Reuters.