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Residents of Fort Simpson, N.W.T., have been ordered to evacuate due to a nearby wildfire.
The Village of Fort Simpson issued the evacuation order at 7:10 p.m. MT on Sunday.
Residents are advised to head for Yellowknife. A statement from the City on Sunday evening said it’s preparing to welcome residents; the Yellowknife Multiplex will be open as a reception and lodging centre for evacuees and closed to the public until further notice.
“We do not yet have a time of arrival for evacuation aircraft. If you plan to be evacuated by plane, please make your way to the Rec Centre for assignment to a manifest,” the Village said in a Facebook post.
An evacuation alert was issued Friday evening warning people to be prepared to leave on short notice, after a fire was detected about 10 kilometres from Fort Simpson’s airport. As of Sunday, the fire was about seven kilometres away.
A fire information officer told CBC News the fire is not expected to reach the community overnight.
The Village of Fort Simpson also declared a local state of emergency on Sunday evening. It said on Facebook that gas stations will remain open 24/7, including Big River station in Fort Providence.
The community of about 1,300 is approximately 600 kilometres, or a 7-hour drive, from Yellowknife, and requires crossing a ferry at the Liard River. The mayor of Fort Simpson, Les Wright, told CBC News the ferry is running 24 hours so people can drive out.
The ferry has limited capacity, holding about 14 to 18 vehicles per trip. The Village posted on Sunday that trailers would not be permitted on the ferry, and it will be closed to northbound traffic, “prioritizing lifesaving crossings with people only.”
The Village’s social media page said Sunday that if residents are evacuating by airplane, they need to pack light due to limited space. No pets will be allowed on aircraft, and should be registered at the recreation centre and left with food.
In a Facebook post Sunday evening, Kele Antoine, the chief of the Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation in Fort Simpson, told evacuees to register at the recreation centre, bring only essential items, including medication, identification, important documents and go-bags.
It’s been a difficult week for the small community; on Wednesday, three people died when a plane crashed about 50 kilometres from Fort Simpson while fighting a different wildfire. The small spotter plane operated by Buffalo Airways was responding to a wildfire in the Martin Hills area.
Highway concerns
Earlier on Sunday, N.W.T. fire information officer Forrest Tower said there were some concerns about a number of wildfires adjacent to highways, but as of Sunday evening the route from Fort Simpson to Yellowknife was open.
Tower said the fire that was “potentially concerning” for Highway 1 over the next few days is FS014, located south of Fort Simpson between the highway and the Liard River. It is currently 1.5 hectares in size and classified as out-of-control.
N.W.T. Fire said two other out-of-control fires – FS017, which is currently 30 hectares in size, and FS021, which is half a hectare – are also burning adjacent to Highway 1 between Wrigley and Fort Simpson.
N.W.T. Fire is responding with ground crews and making plans to get heavy equipment and aerial resources in place in case the situation escalates.
Tower, who was deployed to Fort Simpson as part of the Incident Management Team from B.C., said conditions there on Sunday were smoky, which alleviated wildfire activity a “little bit” by limiting direct sunlight on the fire.
There was a high of 35 C in the area Sunday, with Environment Canada issuing a heat warning for the village, as well as several Dehcho communities and Yellowknife this weekend, where temperatures are soaring.
Tower said temperatures are expected to significantly decrease over the next two to three days, with the potential for some rain as well.
“Whether it hits actually on the fire or not is always really hard to predict, but we’re looking at some positive trends in terms of temperatures and precipitation in the next few days,” he said.
The City of Yellowknife said community members can support evacuees by donating through the Salvation Army either in person at its Yellowknife headquarters or via its website.
It added that summer camps scheduled to be held at the Multiplex will be held at the Fieldhouse until further notice.
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