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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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Videos on social media show the massive scale of wildfires burning in Canada, where thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes.
Alberta declared a provincial state of emergency on Saturday in response to more than 100 active wildfires.
By Sunday morning, there were 110 active wildfires across the province, and 31 were classified as out of control.
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Authorities said more than 24,000 people had been evacuated from their homes because of wildfires as of Saturday evening.
Footage of the devastating wildfires has been circulating on Twitter in recent days.
One clip showed a massive fire burning on both sides of a river near Edson in Alberta.
Another captured three separate fires burning near Swan Hills, a town in northern Alberta.
Ken Thorne, a photographer, shared a video of a massive wildfire seen from a flight.
"This was the view of the Alberta wildfires during my flight back to Vancouver on May 5th at 7pm. Stay safe everyone," Thorne wrote alongside the clip.
Satellite imagery also showed clusters of wildfires raging across the province.
Premier Danielle Smith, the leader of Alberta's government, said a state of emergency was declared "to protect the safety, health and welfare of Albertans."
The declaration "gives the government greater powers to respond to extreme situations," she said at a news conference on Saturday, adding that it would allow the province to access emergency funds and mobilize additional support.
Smith also took to Twitter on Saturday night, writing that the number of wildfires and evacuations "has increased again and we must prioritize the safety of Albertans."
She added: "We are putting all our resources toward fighting these fires, and we are grateful for the support of our partners all across Canada.
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"This is a difficult and stressful time for many Albertans, and I want to thank everyone for helping out as you can. Albertans rally together to support one another and that is no different now. We are Alberta strong."
On Saturday, Smith also said the threat facing her province was "unprecedented."
"Much of Alberta has been experiencing a hot, dry spring and with so much kindling, all it takes is a few sparks to ignite some truly frightening wildfires," she said at a briefing on Saturday afternoon.
"These conditions have resulted in the unprecedented situation our province is facing today."
At a briefing on Saturday evening, Christie Tucker, information unit manager with Alberta Wildfire, said 350,000 hectares have burned in Alberta since January 1.
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