Firefighters are battling nearly 200 wildfires across northern Ontario, with roughly half of them out of control, according to provincial officials.
At least one remote northern community has seen heavy destruction, with residents in the path of wildfires having only a short time to escape the approaching flames.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the government’s first priority is evacuating residents from communities that are threatened by the fires.
“This is a very difficult situation, even to fly in to these communities on dirt runways, when the fire is going and the smoke, our number one priority is to make sure they’re safe, and that’s what we’ve accomplished,” Ford said during a July 17 press conference in Toronto….