Canada wildfire threat sees 20,000 residents evacuated from Northwest Territories

A family escaping from Hay River said their car began melting around them as they drove away after an evacuation order was issued on Sunday. 

The flag of Canada on a pole

An evacuation order has been issued for Yellowknife in the north-west of Canada as a wildfire comes closer, with a local minister saying: “The fire now represents a real threat to the city.” 

Shane Thompson, the environment and climate change minister for the Northwest Territories, said on Wednesday night that the fire could reach the outskirts of Yellowknife by the weekend and was about 17km away.