Emergency and essential personnel have now been told to leave Fort Providence, N.W.T., after an evacuation order for community members began late Sunday.
“Fort Providence residents and emergency/essential personnel must evacuate now,” the territorial government says in its latest bulletin.
“The area has an immediate threat due to a wildfire and is not safe. Everyone must leave now.”
People have been told to head to the reception centre in Hay River, about 180 kilometres away by road, for further instructions.
Late Sunday, the fire was two kilometres north of Fort Providence.
Fort Providence is the second N.W.T. community ordered to evacuate in recent days. On Friday, Whatı̀ residents were told to evacuate due to a nearby wildfire. Many people from the community of about 600, roughly 250 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife, have gone to the capital city or Behchokǫ̀.
On the weekend, N.W.T. wildfire information officer Mike Westwick called the fire situation critical.
Northerly winds were expected to push it closer to the community.
The community of Jean Marie River, which has been watching a nearby wildfire since early July, issued an evacuation notice on Saturday, which means people should have their personal belongings ready in case the situation changes.
Focus on protecting buildings
Structure protection specialists were in Fort Providence several days ago and installed sprinklers and a water cannon on the community’s edge.
Homes on the perimeter of Fort Providence are outfitted with sprinklers to mitigate potential losses, Westwick said.
“We’re working to do everything we can to protect that community and efforts will continue throughout the day.”
Crews have soaked structures along the edge of the community. Aircraft have been unable to attack the fire because visibility is too poor to fly. Extreme winds and the size of the fire made it unsafe to attack this fire with crews, Westwick said.
The fire will be hit with air tankers as much as possible, but the focus now is structure protection on the ground because the head of the fire is too wide to directly attack with crews.
Hay River ready for evacuees
Fort Providence Mayor Danny Beaulieu told CBC on Saturday night that buses were on the way to the community of about 700 people to transport residents without vehicles.
Hay River’s fire department remained on standby in case the fire reaches Fort Providence, Beaulieu said.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, the Town of Hay River said it was ready to welcome evacuees.
The reception area at the Hay River Community Centre has staff from Hay River Health and Social Services.
“Basic accommodation, food, recreation, programming, and fire information services will be provided at the community centre,” the post said.
Anyone from Fort Providence who is in Yellowknife can register at the Fieldhouse, which is already hosting evacuees from Whatı̀ and closed to the public.
In an update Sunday afternoon, the City of Yellowknife said the facility is open to evacuees from Fort Providence. It recommended that evacuees from Whati register at the evacuation centre in Behchokǫ̀.
It urged people in Yellowknife to register at the Tłı̨chǫ reception desk, which opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 11 p.m. daily.
The news release said the evacuation centres in both Behchokǫ̀ and Yellowknife were experiencing high demand and nearing full capacity, so services would be allocated based on the order of registration. It also said that evacuees should not move between evacuation centres.
The Dehcho’s MLA Sheryl Yakeleya told CBC News that the RCMP, nurses, mayor and chief would stay behind in Fort Providence, along with other essential workers.
Officials were asking residents to take their pets with them when they evacuate, but if they aren’t able to, she said, they will feed dogs left behind.
Highway 3, running north to Yellowknife from Fort Providence, was closed Saturday afternoon due to wildfire activity and remained closed Sunday.
The territorial government has provided information online about its available services, including Income Assistance, mental health supports and applying for a one-time payment under the Emergency Evacuation Relief Program.
