More than 13,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes as 78 wildfires burn in Alberta, 19 of which are out of control, according to provincial emergency officials.
An out of control 1500 hectare fire has caused thousands to flee Drayton Valley and the surrounding rural area.
An evacuation order was issued late Thursday, ordering more than 7,000 residents to leave the town about 140 kilometers west of Edmonton.
Evacuees should travel to Edmonton and register at the Expo Centre.
In the north of the province, the Alberta government says a 4,400 hectare wildfire has destroyed 20 homes, an RCMP detachment and a store in the community of Fox Lake.
In a video posted to Facebook Thursday night, the chief of the Little Red River Cree Nation said he thinks everyone has left the community, which is about 550 kilometers north of Edmonton.
The residents were taken away by boats and a barge.
Alberta Wildfire’s Christie Tucker says the province helped evacuate 115 people by helicopter from Fox Lake.
The communities of John D’Or Prairie, High Level and the Métis Settlement of Paddle Prairie support the evacuees.
Much of central Alberta is under a fire ban after an unseasonably hot and windy spell.
