700 people evacuated by military as northern Ontario wildfire threatens First Nation

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Officials say the Canadian military has evacuated more than 700 people from northern Ontario where a major wildfire is threatening a First Nation.

National Defence says a CC-130 Hercules aircraft has been airlifting people out of Sandy Lake First Nation.

It’s unclear how many residents are still waiting to be evacuated from the community of more than 2,000 people.

The military was called in over the weekend as a massive wildfire in northern Ontario doubled in size to over 1,500 sq. km.

Officials say the fire burned through 40 km in a 24-hour period and was about 6 km away from the community by Sunday night.

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Tens of thousands of people across Canada have fled from raging wildfires, prompting Saskatchewan and Manitoba to declare provincial states of emergency.

Premier Doug Ford says firefighters from the United States have also been called in to help fight fires in Canada.

The intense start to the wildfire season has strained Canada’s firefighting resources and international help is being “mobilized,” said the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre in its latest situation report.

Statistics compiled by the agency overseeing Canada’s wildland firefighting response indicate almost 30,000 sq. km of land have burned so far this year, triple the five-year average or almost seven times the 25-year average to date.

Studies have shown how climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, has lengthened and intensified Canada’s fire season.