The western Canadian province of British Columbia was under a state of emergency order early Saturday, hours after most residents of Yellowknife, a city farther north, had fled ahead of a deadline to evacuate because of a dangerous wildfire.

The wildfire near Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, was expected to reach the city limits by the weekend. The mass migration from Yellowknife occurred as blazes hundreds of miles away threatened Kelowna, a much larger city in British Columbia.

Officials in British Columbia issued the state of emergency on Friday evening, calling this year’s wildfire season the worst for the province. The order allows officials to enact travel restrictions and other emergency measures.

It remained unclear precisely how many of Yellowknife’s residents had heeded the order to vacate by noon. But officials said most stores had closed and that the hospital was offering only emergency care, its patients having been flown to facilities elsewhere.