Southern portions of the Inuvik Wildfire EV014 as showing “no major activity” as of 8 p.m. Aug. 15, though the Northeastern side of the fire shows “increased behaviour.”
An update was posted to NWT Wildfire update at 8 p.m.
”Heavy rain through part of the day kept crews and aircraft grounded today,” reads the update. “Showers and scattered drizzle are expected to continue over night, with temperatures dropping to single digits.
“Our fire technician was able to assess the fire around 5pm when the weather cleared. No major activity was reported on the southern part of the fire, which is the closest to Inuvik. There continues to be increased fire behaviour on the northeast section, but two helicopters have been able to bucket the area to cool it down.
“Tomorrow, an infrared scan of the fire will be done, and crews were start removing gear from areas that are cold. The two remaining crews will continue to monitor the southwest area of the fire for hotspots.”
Internet will continue to be slow as the ongoing wildfire emergency in the southern NWT has caused more damage along the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link.
New North Networks provided an update at approximately 2 p.m. Aug. 15.
“In addition to the problem between Inuvik and Fort Good Hope, that will need to be repaired as well,” said the notice. “There is no projection for either of these repairs.
“In the meantime, we have managed to get some satellite services operational, although we are still working on stability. We have been able to bring most services online and will continue to work at improving services.
“Our thoughts go out to all the people of the evacuated communities and especially the people of Enterprise who have lost so much.”
Service through NorthwesTel is also limited by the fibre link outage, says the company in an update on its services posted to its Facebook at noon Aug. 15.
Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, Tsiigehtchic, Aklavik and Fort McPherson are still able to access telecommunication services, but internet is limited due to the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link being damaged by fire.
However, Hay River, High Level, Fort Smith, Enterprise, Fort Providence, Fort Resolution and Jean-Marie River currently do not have access to internet, long distance phone calls or cellular service.
“We are coordinating with the emergency management office to access sites and repair service as quickly as we can safely do so,” says the notice.
NorthwesTel is asking customers to visit their website for the most up to date information on service outages.
Internet in Inuvik was cut off Aug. 7 when fires damaged the line somewhere between Inuvik and Fort Good Hope. Access to the line has been limited by smoke limiting visibility and dangerous conditions on the ground.
Both NorthwesTel and New North Networks have established alternative lines to keep customers on basic service, but use of streaming services is being discouraged due to low bandwidth.
Low flying aircraft unrelated to fires
Some residents were awakened shortly after midnight and again at 1 a.m. by a low flying aircraft.
Canadian Forces public affairs officer Maxime Cliche said both CF-18 fighter jets and C130 Hercules aircraft were conducting operations out of the Inuvik Forward Operating Base.
“As part of NORAD operations, NORAD CF-18 Hornets and a CC-130 Hercules are currently at Forward Operating Location Inuvik,” she said. “NORAD operates out of a variety of locations across North America on a regular basis, including in the Arctic. These operations in Inuvik are normal and are part of NORAD mission of aerospace warning and aerospace control.”
Town remains at Level 1
There was confusion Aug. 12 when an update from NWT Fire stated that “Inuvik has issued an evacuation notice due to this wildfire. All residents should be ready to leave on short notice” which is the language used for Level 2 evacuation notice. However, the town remains at Level 1 or Evacuation Notice/Advisory - meaning residents “need to be aware of an increased risk to the community due to wildfire in the area, and to be prepared.”
The NWT Wildfire Update website still states that residents should be ready to leave on short notice as of 10:30 a.m., Aug. 14 - however a note has been added saying “The Evacuation Notice remains in place and has not been escalated.“
Town of Inuvik SAO Michael Trabysh says the town remains at Evacuation Level 1 - Evacuation Advisory. He said the town would be publishing statements on how residents can prepare if needed on its Facebook page, the Town of Inuvik website and posters in the library and post office for people without internet connections due to the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link being damaged from forest fires.
“We’ve had extensive meetings with the government of the Northwest Territories and the Town of Inuvik is at no risk,” he said. “Citizens should prepare their emergency kits and their emergency plans. We’re going to offer an online portal that’s been developed by the government of the Northwest Territories for people to register on, but at this point in time there is no risk and there is no short notice evacuation alert at all.
“We’ve received a template from the Emergency Management Office from the government of the Northwest Territories and it has some steps in it as well as an online portal to register.”
According to the NWT Public Safety Emergency Plan, under conditions requiring escalation. Level 1 means “Direction and control of emergency operations is the responsibility of the Local Authority, and Level 1 exists when the emergency is expected to be of short duration, existing plans and resources are adequate, and the community impact is low to moderate. A State of Local Emergency is not likely required under these conditions as a limited response under the community emergency plan is usually sufficient action.
“The community informs the Regional Superintendent of the conditions, and Territorial departments or agencies may be in place for regulatory or monitoring requirements.”
As a precaution, a number of major events scheduled last weekend were cancelled. The weekly Arctic Market was cancelled due to air quality safety. The much anticipated 2023 Pat Tingmiak Memorial Fastball tournament was also cancelled for safety.
Inuvik hosted 70 people from Old Crow at the Midnight Sun Complex overnight who are en route to Whitehorse. They were brought to Inuvik over four flights after the evacuation order was issued by the Vuntut Gwichin Government Aug. 9. They were assisted by the Nihtat Gwich’in Council, the Inuvik Native Band and the Town of Inuvik by way of transportation, meals and the accommodation.
The Town of Inuvik is asking all residents to do the following:
1. Review your household emergency plan by visiting https://www.maca.gov.nt.ca/en/services/be-ready-emergencies/be-ready-make-emergency-plan-and-kit
2. Ensure you have an emergency kit
3. Pre-register on the Evacuee Registration Portal by visiting https://www.gov.nt.ca/en/form/evac
