Manitoba urges thousands to evacuate as Canada wildfires spread | U.S. & World [Video]

By Ed White

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) – Manitoba declared a state of emergency and urged thousands of people in northern and eastern parts of the province to evacuate on Wednesday, as wildfires spread in Central and Western Canada. 

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said at a news conference that 17,000 people needed to move quickly, including from the city of Flin Flon. Many will be put up at soccer fields and community centers in Winnipeg and other cities, and federal armed forces were arriving to help transport evacuees, he said. 

“This is the largest evacuation in many Manitobans’ living memory and this will require significant resources and co-operation from all levels of government, Kinew said in a statement.

Separately, wildfires in Alberta province have prompted a temporary shutdown of some oil and gas production and forced residents of at least one small town to evacuate. 

Oil producer Cenovus Energy said it was scaling back …