July 23 (Reuters) - Around 5,000 people were forced to

leave the western Canadian town of Jasper early on Tuesday to

escape approaching wildfires, the latest victims of what experts

say could be one of the worst-ever seasons for fires.

"This is an evolving emergency situation ... we will

provide more information as it becomes available," the local

municipality said in a notice at 6.35 am ET (1035 GMT).

Video posted to social media showed a long line of cars

slowly driving out of Jasper to the west in the dark. Evacuee

Stephanie Goertz told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that

it had taken her three hours to drive three km (1.9 miles).

The evacuation order covers Jasper and the surrounding

Jasper National Park, which are located in the province of

Alberta about 370 km (230 miles) to the west of Edmonton, the

provincial capital.

In a separate notice, the province said the evacuation

was progressing well.

Scorching heat in the Northern Hemisphere has baked much

of the Western U.S. and Canada. Alberta says around 50 fires are

currently burning out of control across the province.

Last week, wildfires raging through the northern part of

Alberta prompted evacuations of three communities. In

neighboring British Columbia, up to 367 active wildfires are

burning.

In April, federal officials said Canada risked another

"catastrophic" wildfire season amid higher-than-normal spring

and summer temperatures across much of the country.

Last year Canada endured its worst-ever fire season,

with more than 6,600 blazes burning 15 million hectares, an area

roughly seven times the annual average.

Earlier this month, Suncor, Canada's

second-largest oil company, temporarily curtailed some

production and evacuated non-essential workers from its 215,000

barrels-per-day (bpd) Firebag site because of a fire close by.

In the easternmost province of Newfoundland and

Labrador, authorities said on Monday that thousands of people

ordered from their homes in the face of a raging wildfire could

return

home.