Wildfire devastation voted Canadian Press news story of the year

It was the year unprecedented wildfires disrupted the lives of thousands from coast to coast, shattering records for the total area burned. Canadian wildfires were by far the first choice for The Canadian Press news story of the year.

It was the year unprecedented wildfires disrupted the lives of thousands from coast to coast, shattering records for the total area burned.

Canadian wildfires -- which consumed an area roughly one-quarter the land mass of Manitoba -- were by far the first choice for The Canadian Press news story of the year, as voted by editors in newsrooms across the country.

An unusually warm and dry winter in much of Canada set the stage for a wildfire season that led to 200,000 people fleeing their homes.

One of the first communities evacuated was Evansburg, a hamlet west of Edmonton, on April 29. Evacuation orders for other communities were issued in the following days.

On May 29, Nova Scotia's fires spun out of control, in a fashion that experts said was an ominous signal for the rest of Canada. "If Halifax can burn, any place can burn, and that blows all our minds," said John Vaillant, author of the award-winning "Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast."

A heat dome and tinder-dry forests fed the blaze on the outskirts of the Nova Scotia capital. Homeowners, startled by the rapidity of the spread, encountered traffic jams attempting to flee their neighbourhoods.

On June 8, during debate in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, "Canada is burning."