On Thursday, August 17, the 20,000 residents of Yellowknife (Northwest Territories) were ordered to evacuate the city due to the rapid advance of forest fires. The early onset and extent of Canada's wildfires, which began in the spring, have already forced 168,000 people to evacuate since the start of the season – and there are still 230 active fires in the country today.

With nearly 13.7 million hectares of forest affected as of August 16, 2023 (136.781 km², the size of a country like Greece), Canada is facing its worst year for forest fires. Nearly twice as much area has burned as the previous "record" of 7.3 million hectares, reached in 1989, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).

Canada, which because of its geographical location is warming faster than the rest of the planet, has been confronted in recent years with extremely violent weather events.