Nearly 20,000 inhabitants in the city of Port Alberni in western Canada are ready to flee their homes as a forest fire spreads uncontrollably in the vicinity.
The fire is raging on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, which previously had been relatively spared from forest fires. The fire is described by local authorities as "enormous".
It is still unclear whether Port Alberni, about a mile from the fire, will be evacuated.
Around 700 fires are raging around the country, with a total extent of 7.4 million hectares of land.
