Wildfire crews hope to 'make a real dent' in fire threatening Fort Providence, N.W.T.

A fast-moving wildfire that has led to an evacuation prescribe in fort up capital of rhode island, N.W.T., was within ace kilometre of the crossroads early Monday, the territorial government said.

Residents and emergency and essential personnel have been told to leave since the evacuation began late Sunday, with evacuees going to Hay River.

Mike Westwick, a wildfire information officer for the N.W.T. Government, said the fire came within 900 metres of the community.

"It was a very serious situation yesterday, but we got through it," he said Monday morning.

Monday is expected to bring cooler conditions and winds from the south and southeast — good news for the hamlet, Westwick said. Wildfire crews are planning to take advantage of that, and will be looking at possible ways to directly attack the wildfire or strategically burn off vegetation in the fire's path.

"It should give us some opportunities to look at ways to hold back more of that fire front that remains just at the doorstep of Fort Providence there," he said.

He said the situation is still dangerous.

"You still have about 10 kilometres of fire front right on the community's doorstep," Westwick said.

"We're going to be taking every opportunity ... Today to make a real dent in that threat level."

Sunday's evacuation order was expanded on Monday morning to include emergency and essential workers.

The hamlet, which has a population of about 700, originally issued the order Sunday after the wildfire grew substantially and closed the distance to the community. Originally coming from the north, the fire burned around and began approaching the hamlet's southeast edge.

At last update, the fire had burned an area larger than the city of Toronto — 89,000 hectares, or roughly 890 square kilometres. It is still deemed "out of control."

N.W.T. Wildfire: Fort Providence evacuations expand to include emergency crews

On Monday morning, Fort Providence Mayor Danny Beaulieu said there was "a little bit of excitement" overnight when it breached the main fire guard, but crews successfully fought that section.

"Most people had only three hours' sleep, but everybody's pretty chipper this morning and ready to go," he said. "Everything should be OK."

Despite the expanded evacuation order, Beaulieu said RCMP officers remain in town and nurses are still there as well. The hamlet's staff are making sure any animals left behind are getting fed.

People have been told to head to the reception centre in Hay River, about 180 kilometres away by road, for further instructions.  

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 that community of about 600, roughly 250 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife, have gone to the capital city or Behchokǫ̀.

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. 

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 earlier in the weekend. 

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.

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 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.

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