Wildfire threat to Yellowknife ‘serious,’ parts of city on evacuation alert | CBC News

The N.W.T. minister of municipal and community affairs says the wildfire threat to Yellowknife “is serious.”

Shane Thompson made the comment at a news conference on Tuesday evening. Earlier on Tuesday he declared a territorial state of emergency due to wildfires and evacuations in many parts of the territory. 

The emergency declaration will allow the territory to “acquire and deploy the necessary resources to support the management of this unprecedented wildfire season, and protect the health and safety of Northwest Territories residents,” according to a news release on Tuesday afternoon. 

“We find ourselves in a crisis situation and our government is using every tool available to assist,” Thompson said in a statement.

The declaration comes a day after Thompson said there was no need to declare a territorial state of emergency, as the government had the resources it needed to handle things and an emergency declaration would simply “cause more stress.”

Thompson said Tuesday that up until noon that day they had the resources to fight the fire. He wouldn’t specify what changed as of noon on Tuesday.

He said smoke is making it hard for aircraft to see what they’re fighting.

Mike Westwick, N.W.T. Fire Information officer, said flying aircraft has been difficult due to smoke from the fire between Yellowknife and Behchokǫ̀. 

“We are out there every single day fighting the progress of this fire” Westwick said. 

The N.W.T. is currently dealing with hundreds of active fires across the territory, several communities under evacuation orders and other areas under evacuation alerts. Some communities have been ravaged by fire, telecommunications services are down in some areas, and the capital city was put under a local state of emergency on Monday as a large wildfire moved closer.

Thompson said on Tuesday that the territory could be dealing with wildfires for weeks yet, possibly into September.

Evacuation alert issued for parts of Yellowknife

An evacuation alert was issued Tuesday evening for Kam Lake, Grace Lake and the Engle Business District in Yellowknife.

The announcement came from Rebecca Alty, the city’s mayor, in an interview with Meghan Roberts, host of CBC’s Northbeat. 

Alty said the evacuation alert is precautionary and that residents in those areas should be prepared to leave on short notice.

She said in a news conference Tuesday evening that in the case of an evacuation, the Yellowknife multiplex will be open for those needing a place to stay.

The territorial government previously said the multiplex can house 331 evacuees. If the nearby fieldhouse is also used, 772 evacuees could be accommodated.   

Alty gave no specifics on what a city-wide evacuation might look like. When asked, she said if the situation escalates the city — with a population of about 20,000 people — would work with the territorial and federal government.

Some Yellowknife residents have taken to social media to question the city’s decision not to publicize a city-wide evacuation plan. 

“I feel like our evacuation plan should have been made available to the public weeks ago,” Alexis Goulding said in a message to CBC News.

At Tuesday evening’s news conference, Alty was asked about providing residents with a plan. She said any areas under an evacuation order would go to the multiplex and that next steps would be announced as they come.

All three areas under the alert are on the western side of the city. Kam Lake is both a residential and industrial area; Grace Lake is a newer residential area. The evacuation alert does not include Hall Crescent. 

The Engle Business District is an industrial area that includes the SPCA and a fuel tank farm. The city spent the past two days clear cutting trees around this area. Alty, who was born and raised in Yellowknife, said this is first evacuation alert for the city that she can remember.

Alty said that although the alert is just for those areas, all residents should be prepared.Thompson said Tuesday evening the fire remains 20 km from the nearest point of Yellowknife but said it’s a rapid and evolving situation.

Services had also been reduced at Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife as of Tuesday. The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is ramping down services, with some ICU patients moving to the ER, and others possibly being flown to Alberta. Some extended care unit residents may also be flown south. Operating room services are also being reduced to urgent and emergent cases only.

Julie Green, N.W.T. health minister, said elders from the long term care home in Fort Smith were originally moved to Hay River during its evacuation, then to Stanton Legacy in Yellowknife when Hay River was evacuated. 

Now the residents are in the process of relocating to Edmonton, Calgary and Fort McMurray, Alta. Some will be moved to facilities in the N.W.T. when possible.