Thousands of Albertans evacuated in "unprecedented" wildfire situation


  • World
  • Sunday, 07 May 2023

A smoke column rises from wildfire EWF-035 near Shining Bank, Alberta, Canada May 5, 2023. Alberta Wildfire/Handout via REUTERS

TORONTO (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Albertans have been forced to evacuate their homes as "unprecedented" wildfires rage on in Alberta, Premier Danielle Smith, head of the ruling United Conservative Party (UCP), said at a press conference on Saturday.

As of Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time (11:30 a.m. ET), 24,511 Albertans were evacuated from homes with 103 active wildfires across the province, burning 121,909 hectares.

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