Alberta announced a state of emergency on Saturday as wildfires flared across the Canadian province, forcing 25,000 people to flee their homes in what a top official said was an"unprecedented" crisis.
"These conditions have resulted in the unprecedented situation our province is facing today," she said. Almost all of Alberta -- which is in the midst of an election -- and much of neighboring Saskatchewan province as well as a large swath of the Northwest Territories face extreme fire risks, according to a federal government fire danger map.
Drayton Valley with 7,000 residents -- about 140 kilometers west of Edmonton -- was among the communities evacuated as firefighters battled an out-of-control blaze.
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