Fort Smith Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services volunteers went door to door Saturday night informing residents of an emergency evacuation order due to a wildfire threatening the community.
“For those that have decided to stay in the community, the Town of Fort Smith will continue to offer essential services as long as possible. If the community becomes directly threatened by a wildfire, the Town of Fort Smith will prepare the community and recreation centre for shelter-in-place needs,” Fort Smith Protective Services advised the community on social media on Saturday night.
Winds on Sunday are forecast to gust to 60 km/h, making it an “extreme” fire day.
“Crews are working day and night, ground crew, air support and heavy equipment,” the Town of Fort Smith stated in a Sunday morning update. “Please make your way out of town, Lock your doors, patrols are being done day and night in the community!”
The Hay River recreation centre is the official evacuation site, a three-hour drive to the west along Highway 5. Although the highway remains open, it could close at any time, the Town of Fort Smith noted on Sunday.
There were many residents on the road Saturday night, along with buses transporting those without personal vehicles. Some Elders were flown to Hay River, which is only modestly bigger than Fort Smith. The latter community has a population of close to 2,250. Residents of Hay River are familiar with this sort of emergency as they had to evacuate to Yellowknife in May because of a wildfire.
People in the host community quickly began making offers on social media this weekend to host their incoming South Slave neighbours, indicating how many people they could accommodate in their homes and campers. With some evacuees expressing concern about places to leave their pets, a Facebook group popped up titled Fort Smith Pet Evacuees in Hay River, and several people said they were willing to host cats or dogs. Others said they would lend crates of various sizes to contain pets.
“You are amazing thank you for doing this and thank you for having us in Hay River,” one thankful individual wrote in response.