Thousands of people were forced to leave their homes suburb of Halifax in eastern Canadadue to the fire raging in the area.

Mayor Mike Savage said the mandatory evacuation order issued Sunday affected about 18,000 residents in the Hammonds Plains, Upper Tandallon and Pokewalk areas.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed in a post on Twitter that the situation due to the fire in the province of Nova Scotia is “extremely serious” and that the federal government is ready to provide all possible assistance to local authorities if they ask for it.

In the greater Halifax area it was preached from Sunday evening emergency situation, which will be valid for seven days. More than 100 firefighters were battling the blaze even after darkness fell, a Fire Department spokesman said, adding that there were no reports of casualties.

Over the weekend, about 400 homes were evacuated in the neighboring province of New Brunswick.

Meanwhile, most of the fire fronts in western Canada have been brought under control. In the province of Alberta, forest fires have destroyed more since the beginning of May of 9.5 million acres, forcing almost 11,000 residents to leave their homes.