Canada wildfires: Dashcam video shows cars racing to escape the inferno, driver says ‘I nearly died’

Canada is dealing with a series of intense wildfires that have spread from the western provinces to Quebec, with hundreds of forest fires burning. The eastern Canadian city of Halifax has declared a local state of emergency after the wildfire caused evacuations and power outages.

Recently a terrifying video footage captured through dashcam went viral in which a car sped through the raging fire in Nova Scotia, Canada and escaped dramatically from the wildfire as flaming debris showered their windscreen.

The video was shared by a filmmaker, known as @ibrafilms_ on Instagram, who was driving through the inferno.

The video shows two cars racing to escape a blazing wildfire. A car came close to crashing as the driver claims he nearly died.

Flames and smoke can be seen on both sides of the highway, with dark plumes flooding the drivers windscreen.

The driver sped through Hammonds Plain, the trees were alight and glowing orange. The driver said: "Woah, woah, woah, I need to go, I can't see anything".

Soon the car moves further towards the cloud of thick grey smoke, and the wildfire can be seen spreading through the forest as red sparks flicked onto the windows.

The footage also captured the massive fire blasting towards the car while the driver swerved chaotically in an effort to not be hit. Trees can be also seen in the video, they are bare and burnt to a crisp.

Suddenly, the driver slammed on his brakes to avoid a potentially deadly collision after a set of brake lights appeared in front of his car. The driver ground to a halt while the vehicle sped off into the smoke. The driver can be heard shouting something before slowing down to create a safe distance between his car and the one ahead.

The thick smoke continued to cover the windscreen and golden embers flitted across the clouded window.

As the driver moved further forward the through the blaze which is dangerously out of control, he can be heard shouting "Don't be afraid, don't worry."

The horror footage then cuts to a clip of huge orange flames engulfing the trees on both sides of the road while the car in front kept a steady pace on the dangerous highway.

Both vehicles finally exit the fire-stripped forest but the cloud of black smoke can be seen lingering around the cars.

Sharing the video of the nightmare, the owner of the dashcam said: "Guys, we almost died, the fire is spreading, it's very serious, I'm not kidding, we couldn't see anything".

Canada is on pace for its worst-ever wildfire season on record, with approximately 3.3 million hectares (8.2 million acres) burned so far this year, according to data from the Canadian government. 

That’s almost double the area of Lake Ontario. Smoke has drifted south and is hanging over New York, Toronto and Ottawa, among other affected cities, reported Bloomberg.

More than 400 active fires were burning across the country as of Monday, prompting thousands to evacuate their homes. In Quebec, the largest province by land area, about 150 fires are active, with most of them out of control, according to the website of the Société de Protection des Forêts Contre le Feu, a Quebec non-profit organization.