Situation ‘critical’ as Fort Providence ordered to evacuate | CBC News

The community of Fort Providence, N.W.T., has been ordered to evacuate as of 8:57 a.m. on Sunday.

Community members are asked to leave immediately to Hay River, about two hours away by road. Residents needing transportation should meet at the community arena.

An evacuation alert had been put in place on Saturday. According to an update from N.W.T. Fire on Sunday morning, the wildfire grew significantly overnight driven by severe northerly winds.

The fire is now two kilometres north of Fort Providence.

N.W.T. wildfire information officer Mike Westwick called the fire situation critical. The fire moved 11 kilometres overnight due to “extraordinary conditions.”  

Northerly winds are expected to push the fire closer to the community, and Westwick said it could reach Fort Providence Sunday evening. 

“We are concerned about the wind forecast for later today,” he told CBC News. 

Fort Providence is the second N.W.T. community ordered to evacuate in recent days. On Friday, Whatı̀ residents were told to evacuate due to a nearby wildfire. Many people from the community of about 600, roughly 250 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife, have gone to the capital city or Behchokǫ̀.

The community of Jean Marie River, which has been watching a nearby wildfire since early July, issued an evacuation notice on Saturday, which means people should have their personal belongings ready in case the situation changes. 

Focus on protecting buildings

Structure protection specialists were in Fort Providence several days ago and installed sprinklers and a water cannon on the community’s edge. 

Homes on the perimeter of Fort Providence are outfitted with sprinklers to mitigate potential losses, Westwick said. 

“We’re working to do everything we can to protect that community and efforts will continue throughout the day,” he said.

Crews have soaked structures along the edge of the community. Aircraft have been unable to attack the fire because visibility is too poor to fly. Extreme winds and the size of the fire made it unsafe to attack this fire with crews, Westwick said.

The fire will be hit with air tankers as much as possible but the focus now is structure protection on the ground because the head of the fire is too wide to directly attack with crews.

Hay River ready for evacuees

Fort Providence Mayor Danny Beaulieu told CBC Saturday night that buses were on the way to the community of about 700 people to transport residents without vehicles.

Hay River’s fire department is on standby in case the fire reaches the community of Fort Providence, Beaulieu said.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, the Town of Hay River said it’s ready to welcome evacuees. 

A reception centre is set up at the Hay River Community Centre, with staff from Hay River Health and Social Services.

“Basic accommodation, food, recreation, programming, and fire information services will be provided at the community centre,” the post said.

Anyone from Fort Providence who is in Yellowknife can register at the Fieldhouse, the Dehcho’s MLA Sheryl Yakeleya told CBC News. The Fieldhouse is already hosting evacuees from Whatı̀ and closed to the public.

Yakeleya said the RCMP, nurses, mayor and chief will stay behind in Fort Providence, along with other essential workers.

Officials are asking residents to take their pets with them when they evacuate, but if they cannot, she said they will feed dogs left behind.

Yakeleya, who is currently in Grande Prairie, Alta., said her phone has been ringing all morning with people who have questions.

“People are nervous, rightly so,” Yakeleya said.

“Even for myself, I’ve never been through this before. And so it’s been, it’s been a little bit overwhelming.” 

She encouraged residents to follow the orders and rely on officials to do their jobs.

Westwick said the mayor and his team are “highly, highly experienced and efficient in keeping their folks safe.” 

“They’re working tirelessly right now to coordinate that evacuation,” he said. 

Westwick also urged evacuees to follow directions from the community government to ensure an orderly evacuation.

“The fire activity is critical in the area and it is important that you stay calm, that you collect your things and you make an orderly exit out of the community. That’s going to be the safest, safest thing for anybody there right now.” 

Highway closure

Highway 3, the highway running north to Yellowknife from Fort Providence, was closed Saturday afternoon due to wildfire activity, and remains closed Sunday morning.

A spokesperson for the Department of Infrastructure confirmed at 11:30 a.m. Sunday that travellers are able to travel north from Enterprise, then west on Highway 1 in the direction of Fort Simpson and Fort Liard; however, it remains closed at the Highway 3 junction, north to Fort Smith and Yellowknife.

Highway 3 is open for evacuees travelling south from Fort Providence, but not for travellers heading north.

The Deh Cho Bridge, which crosses the Mackenzie River on the way to Hay River, has periodically been down to one lane due to construction, but Mayor Beaulieu confirmed it is currently open to two lanes of traffic. 

An employee at Big River gas station in Fort Providence confirmed to CBC News on Sunday morning that it was still open and will remain open unless they’re told to close. He said they have plenty of gas and supplies. He said more than 200 people have gone through the station since Saturday afternoon.

Big River and the Fort Providence Northern Store are the only places to get gas between Behchokǫ̀ and Enterprise. 

Arlene Evans, the manager of the Northern Store, said at 11 a.m. Sunday that they had just locked the doors, as she and her husband prepared to leave for Hay River.

Evans said firefighters were in the store just before she closed, and she gave them free slushies. She called the situation “pretty serious.”

“We just hope everybody is safe and getting out,” Evans said.

Despite highway closures, Westwick said “evacuees will be able to get where they need to go” and highway staff will ensure their safe passage.