MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway has had to suspend operations in portions of British Columbia and Alberta because of wildfires, Reuters reports.
Affected are the railroad’s northernmost route in British Columbia, the 250-mile Fort Nelson Subdivision between Fort St. John (approximately 175 miles northeast of Prince George) and Fort Nelson; and the Meander River Subdivision in Alberta, which runs for 193 miles north from High Level, Alberta, to Hay River, Northwest Territories. High Level is approximately 455 miles north of Edmonton.
Most of Fort Nelson (population 4,700) has been evacuated, with authorities calling residents who had remained in the region and urging them to leave, the Canadian Press reports. The fire near Fort Nelson has grown to about 84 square kilometers (52 square miles) as of this morning. In Alberta, some 45 wildfires are currently active, according to the Wildfire Alberta website.
For more history, see “By Train to Hay River” in the Summer 2024 issue of Classic Trains.
And just how long will it take for Justin Trudeau to blame these fires on “climate change” or “white nationalists” – or has he done so already???