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Out of control wildfire northwest of Yellowknife spreads

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The wildfire, seen here from the roof of Scotia Tower Thursday afternoon, is "out of control," according to ENR. Nick Pearce / NNSL Photo

An out of the control wildfire roughly 40 km northwest of Yellowknife jumped from 940 hectares to 1300 hectares on Saturday.

Lighting sparked the blaze on Thursday, with strong winds quickly tripling the flames' size by Friday.

An Incident Management Team under the GNWT Department of Environment, Natural Resources (ENR) is monitoring the fire to determine its intensity and possible responses, according to a Saturday ENR social media update.

On Saturday, ground-deployed fire crews were planning to fight the blaze as an air tanker drops retardant on the fire's southern and eastern edges. Depending on weather conditions, an ignition specialist is considering a controlled burn to manage the wildfire.

While North Slave fire danger levels are extreme and a fire ban is currently in effect in Yellowknife, ENR stated there is no threat to the city.