Germany must oppose UniCredit takeover of Commerzbank, bank employees and union warn
FedEx shares tumble amid weak demand for priority deliveries
Nike's new CEO may look to fix retailer ties in sales revival push
Residents in Kyiv told to stay indoors as air pollution blankets the Ukrainian capital
UN peacekeepers in Lebanon urge de-escalation after heavy airstrikes
Russia dismisses Zelenskiy's 'victory plan' as gambit to keep West onside
Brussels Airlines to cancel most Oct. 1 flights due to strike
Young Russians take odysseys across Europe to see Taylor Swift perform
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Wildfires raging through the northern part of Canada's Alberta have forced evacuations of three communities, a provincial body said on Saturday, as the oil-rich province continues to fight five different 'wildfires of note' in separate areas.
A wildfire of note is often considered to be of significant threat to public safety, communities and critical infrastructure.
The evacuation orders have been issued across John D'Or, Fox Lake and Garden River communities in northern Albert, covering close to 62,000 hectares and comprising 5,000 inhabitants.
No threat to oil sands production was mentioned.
Alberta is in the grip of 158 wildfire events of which 55 are out of control, which means a fire is expected to continue growing and a perimeter has not yet been established. Not all out of control wildfires require evacuation of people.
"Fire activity is expected to remain intense throughout the weekend as the hot and dry weather continues," said the Alberta government's wildfire service in a statement.
There are over 200 firefighters and support staff, 10 helicopters and 43 pieces of heavy equipment working on this complex, it said, adding the fire was caused by lightning.
Meanwhile in neighboring British Columbia, where up to 319 active wildfires are burning, evacuation orders have been issued on Saturday due to an uncontrolled wildfire blazing between two lakes, BC Wildfire Service said on social media platform X.
B.C. has had 58 new wildfire incidents in the last 24 hours with three 'wildfires of note' in the southern region - the Shetland Creek, Aylwin Creek and Komonko Creek.
All three are on evacuation alert, the provincial government said.
"Fire activity is increasing today in southern B.C. due to the thunderstorms across the interior and into central parts of the province," it said, and added that close to a thousand BC Wildfire Service firefighters are on the ground.
More than half of its wildfires are out of control.
(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
