Canada has been hit by an unprecedented wave of wildfires that are now threatening to reach the eastern part of North America.
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre said the country is grappling with 427 fires, half of which have been classified as out of control.
It is the most destructive wildfire season in Canada's history having destroyed over 11 million acres of land, 15 times more area than average.
Wafting smoke has painted skies up to several hundreds of kilometres away including in the US in scenes resembling the biblical Apocalypse.
And it's not just trees going up in flames; homes, cars and cities have been reduced to ashes and shells causing mass evacuations.
On Thursday, some 20,000 residents of Yellowknife, a city in Canada's far north, were being evacuated to safer ground amid fears the wildfire could reach it by the weekend.
What started the fires?
Weather has been blamed as the number one cause of the catastrophe as climate change continues to warm the planet.
Canada is usually hit by wildfires every year due to lightning and human activities but unusual weather conditions this year appeared to have provided more favourable conditions for fires to erupt.
Canada Drought Monitor said all 10 provinces are experiencing moderate or severe drought caused by abnormal dryness.
The country has been arid and unusually warm the entire spring season and received only half its usual rainfall.
The low precipitation and high temperatures rendered forests dry making it easier for fires to start and spread quickly once fire is ignited either by humans or lightning strikes.
More than 85 per cent of wildfires in Canada are started by lightning while the rest is human-caused.
Dry, hot weather breeds more lightning - a 1° increase in temperature causes a 12 per cent likelihood of lightning.
In Quebec, one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada and the largest province by area, fires were sparked by lightning.
Elsewhere, human activities and behaviour have been cited as a cause of the fires from discarded cigarette butts to sparks from passing trains.
For instance, a vehicle caught fire on a forest trail in New Brunswick, a province in the eastern part of Canada and spread the flames to the surrounding trees and shrubs.
Jet streams have also been cited as a contributor to the fires. They are narrow bands of strong winds that generally blow from west to east all across the globe.
Jet streams are formed when warm air masses meet cold air masses causing a current of warmer air to rise up higher, setting the stage for fire.
The warm air currents are further fueling these fast-spreading fires, making them extremely difficult to contain.
Canada has exhausted all its equipment and human resource in efforts to combat the fires prompting the United States, South Africa, Australia, Chile and France to send help.