Wildfires surrounding Yellowknife are highly unlikely to reach the outskirts of the city over the next three days, but officials warn they are looking at weeks before it’s safe to return.
An update was given at an Aug. 21 press conference.
Wildlife information officer Mike Westwick said rain over the past 72 hours has opened “new opportunities” and will allow for direct attack on the fire, which Westwick said would lead to more boots on the ground.
But the work is only beginning.
“We’ve got about 40 kilometres plus of very hot line to deal with,” said Westwick. “We’re in the process of assessing just how long that will take.
“There is uncertainty in all this. When you’re dealing with fire, you’re at the whims of the weather. Things can change fast and we may have to adjust our tactics, as we’ve had to do many times.”
Westwick said because of the drought conditions, it would take a steady course of 60 millimetres of rain over 10 days to bring the forest floor back to regular moisture and very little rain is in the long term forecast.
Less rain fell on the Ingraham Trail fire, which Westwick said was the most active over the past few days.
Westwick said the NWT Fire is looking in terms of weeks to when the wildfire will be subdued enough to not be considered a threat. That doesn’t include how long it takes to get essential services back to operation in each community.
He noted the fact firefighters are able to move to direct attack is a positive sign.
“But the reality is all of these things take a massive amount of work from a massive amount of people, absent assistance from weather,” he said. “The forces of nature we’re working against are extremely powerful.”
Emergency Management Organization (EMO) information officer Jennifer Young said another 15 people were evacuated to Winnipeg today.
The fire at Dettah got roughly 10 mm overnight which has kept the fire at bay.
“There are thousands of people up here, including essential workers and private contractors working desperately to get you home and get you home safe,” said Westwick. “There’s no doubt there’s a lot of work ahead and we recognize the deep anxiety people feel.”
A timeline on re-entry has yet to be determined, but GNWT employees are being asked to work remotely until the emergency is over.
Young added that all evacuation centres have had their deadline for how long people can stay there extended indefinitely.
She added people who were evacuated by flight would be flown back in when the evacuation is over. Details on how people who travelled on their own are to be handled will be hammered out later.
Court proceedings for the entire territory from Aug. 16 to Aug. 25 have been cancelled.
Housing NWT renters will have their rent prorated while evacuated.
Young said approximately 1,600 people remain in Yellowknife. It is estimated 1,000 are either essential workers or supporting the essential workers.
Regional Superintendent of Infrastructure Jeffrey Edison said Canadian North has amended its schedule to fly straight from Edmonton to Norman Wells and onward to Inuvik.
“The whole of Yellowknife is out of the Canadian North and any operators flight path right now,” he said. “They’re bypassing Yellowknife.”
He added any food or supplies being carried by Canadian North will bypass Yellowknife and proceed to destinations in the Beaufort Delta and Nunavut.