Canada is undergoing its second worst fire season in recent memory, with 8.3 million hectares (20.5 million acres) of forest -- an area the size of Austria -- scorched thus far.

Fires are now threatening the towns of Fort Providence and Whati in the Northwest Territories, prompting the first evacuations this year in the enormous area, where some land and large islands straddle the Arctic Circle.

Fire seasons have been longer than usual since 2022, said Mike Westwick, manager of wildfire prevention and mitigation for the territory.

"It's stressful, mentally on people, it's stressful, physically on workers and people who may need to move locations and be away from home," he told AFP.

Thousands of forest fires have raged across Canada since the spring. More than 650 blazes are currently active, and over 100 of those are uncontrolled, according to official data released Tuesday.

Canada has increasingly been hit with extreme weather events, with scientists observing that northern regions are warming at a faster pace than other parts of the globe.

2023 remains the worst fire year on record for Canada, when nearly 18 million hectares (44.5 million acres) went up in smoke.