Crews continue work in South Slave to support re-entry

Here are the latest simple updates we have on wildfires threatening NWT communities, with time stamps below.

We have kept these summaries brief so you can get updates without having to wade through many paragraphs. More detailed information is published by NWT Fire and local governments.

Use our guides for help: guide to getting out, guide to where to stay, guide to everything else (including what we know about financial supports). Check our homepage frequently for other updates.

Here’s our fire map. Here’s what to expect from Cabin Radio in the days ahead.

All communities listed are unsafe for your return. Do not travel. There is no timeline for return unless stated.

Yellowknife, Ndılǫ, Dettah, Ingraham Trail

11:22am Tuesday: NWT Fire says winds are lightening up today with temperatures expected to hover around 13C. Sunny conditions will mean widespread smoke across the complex, the wildfire agency says.

Behchokǫ̀/Yellowknife fire ZF015: Crews are continuing mop up and bucketing activities on hot spots along the north side of the south finger, and the south side of the north finger, as well as along Highway 3. They are also beginning to demobilize structure protection units within Yellowknife and the wet line around Fred Henne Park.

Ingraham Trail fire ZF011: Crews are mopping up and bucketing hot spots on the northwest and southeast sections of this fire. They are also working on demobilizing equipment to be deployed elsewhere.

Dettah fire ZF085: This fire remains out of control. The fire is being assessed daily and monitored and crews are prepared to action hotspots and any threat to containment line escape.

Hay River, KFN, Enterprise, Kakisa

2pm Wednesday: The Town of Hay River says while good progress has been made, there is still a lot of work left to reduce the risk to the town. It says drying conditions have led to flareups and the area is in heavy drought, leading to the fire burning deep in the ground. Work on re-entry plans for Hay River and other South Slave communities continues.

The town says tightlining to control the fire continues while structural protection remains in place. Yesterday, fire control work focused around the sewer lagoon and 553 area to the beach.

The town says the finger of the fire south of Kátł’odeeche First Nation has almost been controlled with blacklining and backlining work will begin on the east side of the reserve.

As residents return by road to Yellowknife, the town says security is in place to control access to Enterprise and there is an RCMP check stop at the entrance from Highway 1 toward Hay River. It says Hay River Ambulance and Rescue are also stationed in Enterprise to support re-entry.

Fort Smith

12pm Wednesday: Parks Canada says milder weather has been helping with firefighting efforts but temperatures into next week into above-seasonal again. “It is very very dry.”

Today a high of 17C is forecast and 32 to 38 percent relative humidity. Winds from the southeast are expected to be 15 kilometres per hour up to 25 kilometres per hour. No significant precipitation is forecast for the long-term.

Helicopters continued helping suppression efforts yesterday while ground crews extinguished hot spots and secured perimeters around values at risk. Heat sensing scans were completed overnight to help crews find and action hot spots.

A containment line near Grand de Tour road has been completed.

Crews continue to work east off Highway 5 and west off Pine Lake Road, extinguishing hot spots along the way. Firefighters have reported hot spots in this area are sometimes two to three feet deep.

Firefighters are also patrolling the eastern Highway 5 part of the fire perimeter for remaining hot spots and crews are containing two small spots that cross the Salt River.

Parks Canada says before people can return home to Fort Smith and Fort Fitzgerald, the northeastern perimeter of the fire must be free of hot spots and extinguished far enough in that the fire will not spread outside the current boundary. It says structure protection around communities will also need to be moved.

“We are getting closer each day, but we’re not there yet,” an update from Parks Canada states.

“We know you’ve been away from home for awhile now, and we’re doing everything we can to get you back as soon as it is safe to do so.”

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