蜜芽传媒

Firefighters are trying to contain the blaze in the Northwest Territories as it threatens the regional capital of Yellowknife. More than 20,000 people have been told to evacuate the city by noon on Friday.

The Northwest Territories declared a state of emergency late on Tuesday as it battles nearly 240 wildfires; part of the the country's worst wildfire season on record, with nearly 1,100 active fires burning across Canada.

Newsday heard more from Shane Thompson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change in the northwest territories government, about the situation in Yellowknife.

"The fire's about 15 km out... unfortunately we had another community we had to evacuate. We're hoping that we'll have everyone out in time barring essential workers. This has probably been the worst fire season. And we're going to have to get ready for next season."

(Pic: Yellowknife city residents leave on Highway 3, the only highway in or out of the community; Credit: Reuters)