Canada wildfire: Car 'began melting' as family evacuated north

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Wildfire is bearing down on the capital city of Canada's Northwest Territories, with thousands of people under evacuation orders.

The conflagration - which has already razed one remote community - could reach the city of Yellowknife by the weekend, say officials.

Another fire is threatening the community of Hay River.

One evacuee told the CBC her car began melting as they drove through embers while fleeing the town on Sunday.

The Northwest Territories declared a state of emergency late on Tuesday as it battles more than 200 wildfires.

Hay River Mayor Kandis Jameson estimated that about 500 people were still in the community of some 3,500 people as of Tuesday despite an evacuation notice issued for the town over the weekend.

 

The fire moved 30km in a few hours because of strong winds earlier this week, closing the only two highways out of the town.

The road out of Hay River is "treacherous", the mayor said, and food and petrol supplies are getting low in the town.

Phone and internet services have also been down in the remote region.

Canada's military has been co-ordinating airlift operations out of several communities in Northwest Territories' South Slave Region that have been threatened by wildfires in recent days.

It is the largest airlift evacuation effort in the territory's history.

 

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