Our hearts here in the Beaufort Delta go out to our neighbours across the NWT, undergoing evacuation alerts and orders and many spread across the southern provinces, wondering what will happen next.
We’ve had a rough time of it these last few weeks with the combined danger of excessive smoke from a fire too close for comfort and the loss of internet for much of the region from the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link getting damaged by wildfires. But we got the easy trial, it would seem.
Complicating matters was this happened right when social media outlets blocked Canadian news, forcing some creativity in getting the news about what was happening out. But we did it.
Local news coverage matters.
As the rest of the NWT is dealing with far worse, it appears the first alert something was amiss here in the Delta and along the Mackenzie Fibre Link to non-Inuvik based media outlets was when NorthwesTel posted their update on Aug. 10. By that point, internet had already been out across the Delta for several days and Inuvik was sitting in a cloud of dark smoke and ash. But the Inuvik Drum was sharing information about the cause of the internet outage from the start and soon had a story about those affected.
Local news coverage became even more important as the week progressed. As smoke got thicker and thicker, rumours began to circulate around town we were going to be evacuated. This put more work on the desks of Town of Inuvik staff, who were already scrambling to figure out how serious the wildfire problem actually was, but now were faced with panic from residents who were subjected to these rumours.
Slow internet be damned, we had a story the same day explaining the Town was not under evacuation order but that people were simply being asked to prepare for potential bad news. Leading up to the publication of the story and afterwards, I relayed the important information to concerned residents over text messages, phone calls and any other form of communication available. My fellow Inuvik-based reporters did likewise.
People down south are dealing with an emergency unlike ever seen, with wildfires on all fronts and communities on full evacuation amid road closures. People are literally running for their lives, so the amount of support we’ve received from the territory is greatly appreciated. But we’re fortunate to have so many reporters living here in Inuvik, especially during a historical era where small towns frequently have none.
As I write this we’re enjoying a break of fresh air. But we don’t know what next week will bring, other than reporters will be there to cover it. Until it was made impossible as of Aug. 14, the Inuvik Drum had used social media to update our readers of breaking news posted to www.nnsl.com and other important stories uploaded to our website. Now, we’re back to emailing out breaking news out to anyone interested in receiving it. Email inuvikdrum@nnsl.com to sign up for this free service and we’ll email you whenever an important story is posted to our website.
If you have any questions as to what is happening on the ground here in Inuvik, reach out to myself or any local news reporter. We will be happy to tell you what we know to ensure you have accurate, up to date information.
Because that’s why we’re here. To sort through the maze of rumours, guesses and theories to ensure you have the facts you need to make smart decisions.
We take that job very seriously.