Hundreds of uncontrolled wildfires burned across western Canada on Wednesday, putting more communities under evacuation alert and raising concerns about the blazes impacting Canadian crude production, according to Reuters.
There are 433 active wildfires in British Columbia and 176 active wildfires in Alberta, including more than a dozen in the Fort McMurray region, Canada's key oil sands hub.
This week British Columbia was hit by more than 58,000 lightning strikes, according to the provincial wildfire agency, sparking scores of new blazes in forests that are tinder-dry after a three-week heat wave.
Around 25,000 people, including residents and visitors, were forced to evacuate the popular tourist town of Jasper, Alberta, and its surroundings early Tuesday as wildfires neared.
The Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain pipeline, which can carry 890,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Edmonton to Vancouver and runs through Jasper National Park, said on Wednesday it was still operating safely and using sprinklers to protect its infrastructure.
Flames are within 5 km of Jasper, Parks Canada officials said on Wednesday afternoon, and gusty winds are expected to fan the wildfires before rain arrives overnight.
"While rain will help reduce fire growth and allow crews to make progress, it will not control the wildfire," Parks Canada said on social media.
There have been no impacts to the town of Jasper so far although some structures have been lost to the south and east, officials added.
Alberta officials said 17,500 residents had been forced to leave their homes because of wildfires, while British Columbia has issued 19 evacuation orders and 29 evacuation alerts.
Many communities in western Canada are blanketed by thick smoke, including Alberta's largest city Calgary where residents were advised to limit time outdoors.
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