YELLOWKNIFE, Canada (AP) — Residents of Canada’s capital of the Northwest Territories were ordered to evacuate Wednesday evening as wildfires approached the town of 20,000.

Residents in Yellowknife’s four most threatened areas were asked to leave as soon as possible, while others were given until noon Friday to leave, according to the Northwest Territories government.

“I want to be clear that the city is not in immediate danger and that there is a safe space for residents to leave the city by road and air,” said Shane Thompson, Minister of Public Health. ‘Environment of the territories, during a press conference.

The fire was burning about 17 kilometers from the city. “Without rain, it could reach the outskirts of town by the weekend,” Thompson said.

If smoke limits visibility, people leaving Yellowknife on the highway will be escorted through the active fire zone.

More than 200 fires have already ravaged a large area of ​​the Northwest Territories. There were 1,067 active fires in Canada on Wednesday.

Eight communities totaling nearly 6,800 people, or 15% of the region’s population, had already been evacuated, Mike Westwick, regional fire information manager, said Wednesday.

Many highways were closed and the territory experienced what authorities described as the largest air evacuation operation in its history. Canadian Armed Forces personnel assisted firefighters and transported evacuees aboard a Hercules aircraft.

Canada has suffered a record number of forest fires this year. More than 21,000 square kilometers (8,108 miles) of land burned.