YELLOWKNIFE, Northwest Territories >> Thousands of residents fled the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories ahead of an approaching wildfire Thursday, some driving hundreds of miles to safety and others waiting in long lines for emergency flights, the latest chapter in Canada’s worst fire season on record.

The fire, boosted by strong winds, was within 10 miles of Yellowknife’s northern edge and people in the four areas at highest risk were told to leave as soon as possible, Fire Information Officer Mike Westwick said.

Officials worried that winds could push the flames toward the only highway leading away from the fire as long caravans of cars evacuated the city of 20,000, and although some rain was forecast, first responders were taking no chances. Westwick urged residents in other areas to leave by noon today.

“I want to be clear that the city is not in immediate danger and there’s a safe window for residents to leave the city by road and by air,” Shane Thompson, a government minister for the territories, told a news conference. “Without rain, it is possible it will reach the city outskirts by the weekend.”

Evacuating such a large number of people is “going to be tough,” but people were cooperating and staying calm, Westwick said.

Canada has seen a record number of wildfires this year — contributing to choking smoke in parts of the U.S. — with more than 5,700 fires burning more than 53,000 square miles from one end of Canada to the other, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. As of Thursday, 1,053 wildfires were burning across the country, more than half of them out of control.

In the Northwest Territories alone, 268 wildfires already have burned more than 8,100 square miles.

Officials said evacuations have so far been safe and orderly and that evacuees from Yellowknife who can’t find their own accommodations can get support in three centers in the province of Alberta. The closest of those centers is more than 620 miles by road from Yellowknife.

Officials in Calgary said they’re preparing to take in thousands of evacuees and are opening a reception center at the Calgary airport, where five evacuation flights were expected to arrive Thursday. A second center has been set up at a hotel for those who drive to the city, said Iain Bushell, the city’s director of emergency management.

Only those who cannot leave by road should register for the evacuation flights, officials said. People who are immunocompromised or have conditions that put them at higher risk also were encouraged to sign up.