Canada: Around 5,000 people were forced to leave the western town of Jasper

• Experts warn of a potentially severe fire season this year.
• The evacuation order covers Jasper and the surrounding Jasper National Park in Alberta.
• Alberta is currently battling around 50 uncontrolled fires.

Early on Tuesday, around 5,000 people had to leave the western Canadian town of Jasper to escape approaching wildfires. Experts warn that this season could be one of the worst ever for fires. “This is an evolving emergency… we will provide more information as it becomes available,” the local municipality said in a notice at 6.35 am ET (1035 GMT).

Social media users posted a video showing a long line of cars slowly driving west out of Jasper in the dark. Stephanie Goertz, an evacuee, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that she took three hours to cover just three kilometers (1.9 miles).

The evacuation order covers Jasper and the surrounding Jasper National Park in Alberta, about 370 km (230 miles) west of Edmonton, the provincial capital. In a separate notice, the province reported that the evacuation was progressing well. The scorching heat has baked much of the Western US and Canada, with Alberta battling around 50 uncontrolled fires across the province.

Last week, wildfires raging through northern Alberta prompted the evacuation of three communities. In neighboring British Columbia, up to 367 active wildfires are burning. In April, federal officials warned that Canada faced the risk of another “catastrophic” wildfire season due to higher-than-normal spring and summer temperatures across much of the country.

During last year’s worst-ever fire season, Canada faced over 6,600 blazes that burned 15 million hectares, roughly seven times the annual average. Earlier this month, Suncor, Canada’s second-largest oil company, temporarily reduced some production and evacuated non-essential workers from its Firebag site, which produces 215,000 barrels per day (bpd), due to a nearby fire.

Authorities in the easternmost province of Newfoundland and Labrador announced on Monday that thousands of people who had been ordered to evacuate due to a raging wildfire could now return home.

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