Tlicho Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty has taken it upon himself to go and get people out of harm’s way in Behchoko.
His wife, Dianne Lafferty, confirmed to NNSL Media just after midnight Wednesday that he had landed safely after taking off from Yellowknife just before 12 a.m. Lafferty was going door-to-door to get people to leave and head for safer ground as the flames moved in.
In a post to Facebook at around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning from Edzo Airport in Behchoko, Lafferty said he was trying to get people to head to Yellowknife.
“Right around Edzo, there’s still some people,” he said. “This is an emergency (and) we should have everyone on a plane.”
He said those who were waiting to get out were to make their way to Edzo Airport; two planes were sitting at the airport when Lafferty posted the video.
In the video, ashes could be seen falling from the sky and Lafferty said things were only getting worse.
“It’s critical now in Behchoko,” he said. “Lives are at stake here, it’s life or death. We need to get out ASAP.”
The fire had taken a massive turn for the worse Tuesday evening with the fire expected to be in Behchoko overnight. Gusting winds as high as 50 km/h was the reason, according to Mike Westwick, wildfire information officer with the Department of Environment and Climate Change.
Westwick also indicated that emergency crews were trying to evacuate all remaining residents from the area and were regrouping from a new base away from the blaze. Firefighting stopped as the focus turned to getting people out of harm’s way.
A Facebook post from Pushp Seth, Behchoko’s senior adminstrative officer, stated that everyone still in Rae was to evacuate toward Bay Island. That was at around 9 p.m. Tuesday evening.
According to Westwick, structure protection had been set up east of Behchoko, which could provide some protection as it will wet the grounds. Structures have also been sprayed with what’s known as FireIce, a gel which is designed to stop embers from igniting a fire. Those embers are coming from Highway 3.
But Westwick warned people to be ready for some property loss and the extent of the losses won’t be known until crews can safely check things out.