Over 24,000 evacuate in western Canada as 103 wildfires rage across Alberta

Wildfires raged across western Canada on Saturday, forcing 24,000 people to evacuate their homes, authorities said.

Roughly 301,243 acres burned in 103 separate blazes, said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

Forty-five new fires took during Friday and Saturday, said NBC News.

At least 31 of the 92 fires reported Friday were considered to be out of control, said the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.

A total of 24,511 people have been effected by mandatory evacuations across northern and central Alberta.

Another 5,200 have been placed under evacuation alert in what is being described as a “rapidly-evolving situation,” said Smith.

In response to the wildfires, Smith also activated her cabinet’s emergency management committee, and said the government is prepared to use its emergency powers.

“Our top priority is and always will be public safety and we’re being briefed regularly by the experts who are handling the response,” Smith added.

As of Saturday, fourteen Alberta counties and communities had declared states of emergency.

A wildfire in Fox Lake in northern Alberta destroyed 20 homes, a police station and a water treatment plant, reported the emergency management agency.

“This is a stark reminder of just how unpredictable and powerful wildfires can be,” said Stephen Lacroix, the Alberta emergency management agency’s managing director. “I ask you to keep the affected folks in your thoughts today.”