Canada wildfires spread, forcing more than 33,000 to evacuate as smoke impacts U.S. and reaches Europe

Toronto — At least 33,400 people have been forced to evacuate their homes in three Canadian provinces due to active wildfires that are sending smoke drifting across the border into northern U.S. states and all the way across the Atlantic to Europe. As of Wednesday two deaths were blamed on the blazes.

Officials have declared a state of emergency in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where crews and military forces were battling this week to try to contain dozens of out-of-control fires.

Some 17,000 people got evacuation orders in Manitoba alone, many of them seeking shelter in Winnipeg, while others were put up in hotels in Niagara Falls, in neighboring Ontario province.