Military deploys 350 soldiers to Northwest Territories, 68 per cent of population evacuated

Fires continue to burn close to several communities in the Northwest Territories where evacuation orders remain in effect.

Here's the latest:

• Approximately 25,900 people, or 68 per cent of N.W.T. residents, evacuated
• A fire about 15 kilometres from Yellowknife could be pushed away from the city on Monday
• Approximately 350 CAF personnel, dozens of helicopters and heavy equipment are focused on the fires around Yellowknife and throughout N.W.T.
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau comments on "horrific" wildfires in N.W.T. and B.C.

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Approximately 25,900 people have been evacuated from their homes in the Northwest Territories due to wildfires, which is 68 per cent of the population. A total of 238 active wildfires remain burning across the territory.

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"The human toll of this wildfire season is unparalleled," Mike Westwick, a fire information officer for the N.W.T. told CTVNews.ca in an interview Monday.

"So many of all of these responders, friends and family, who are displaced as we work desperately hard to get folks back as soon as possible and as safe as safely as possible."

There are now nearly 600 firefighters in the field, with support from more than 300 military personnel, as well as helicopters, air tankers and heavy equipment.

At a press conference Monday evening, officials urged residents to stay away from their homes.

"The small amount of rain we have received for the past couple of days has not stopped these fires," Jennifer Young of the territory's Emergency Management Organization said.

"We know that not knowing when you will be able to go home is stressful, frustrating and at times angering, but it is not safe to return to any evacuated community in the Northwest Territories at this point." 

YELLOWKNIFE

A wildfire threatening the City of Yellowknife is about 15 kilometres northwest of the territorial capital. The weather and firefighting efforts have helped crews to limit the spread.

An update on Monday said nearly five millimetres of rain over the last 72 hours have provided opportunities for the fire to be pushed back. Officials say fires are unlikely to reach Yellowknife's outskirts over the next three days.

"We're going to be moving to a direct attack approach on the perimeter of that fire, so putting boots on the ground right on the perimeter of this huge fire," Westwick said at the press conference. "We've got about 40 kilometers-plus of very hot line to deal with, and of course, as conditions continue to dry out, we will see fire activity increase again."

Until now, firefighters had focused on defensive measures, like clearing trees and underbrush to create fire lines in the forest and rob the wildfire of fuel, as well as water bombing the blaze from the air to cool it off.

"With help from rain and changing wind conditions, we’re now in a position to pursue direct attack on the perimeter of this fire. We are mobilizing the personnel and skillsets required," an update on the website of the government of the Northwest Territories reads. "This will be a huge task.”

More rain is expected, but will come with the risk of lighting, which could cause more fires. Westwick also cautioned about raising hopes over rainfall.

"On the ground, we've seen fire burning so deep through the root systems that trees appear effectively suspended above the ground, and that kind of deep burning is driven by the severe drought in the area," he said.

"With the drought conditions that we're facing there, our fire behaviour analyst determined that it would take about 60 millimetres of rain over a 10-day period on this fire to bring levels of moisture … back to a normal level." 

Heavy smoke from nearby wildfires fills the sky in Yellowknife on Tuesday, August 15, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Angela Gzowski

An evacuation order remains in place for Yellowknife's 20,000 residents.

The RCMP say more than 80 staff members are in the city. While there have been four reported arsons and one related arrest in recent days, the RCMP says there has been no evidence of looting since the evacuation.

"The Yellowknife RCMP have received a number of calls relating to suspicious persons," RCMP Cpl. Matt Halstead told CTVNews.ca on Monday.

"Our officers have followed up on each one and none of them have resulted in break and enters. Some of these investigations were resolved with our officers determining that the 'suspicious persons' were in fact essential workers who were checking on neighbours' property or watering plants."

The RCMP have also noted increased reports of animals in town, including bears. These calls are being handled by territory wildlife officers. 

CANADIAN ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL JOIN FIGHT

Approximately 350 members of the Canadian Armed Forces have joined the fight against N.W.T.'s wildfires, focusing on the areas of Yellowknife and Hay River. Personnel primarily come from CFB Valcartier in Quebec and CFB Edmonton, with troops arriving on Aug. 14 and Aug. 20 for Operation Lentus, which is the name of the military's natural disaster response program.

"We do 'type three' firefighting activities, which is like hot spots dousing, making firebreaks, moving brush," Canadian Armed Forces public affairs officer Maj. Bonnie Wilken told CTVNews.ca from Yellowknife.

"Doing these things will allow the 'type one' and 'type two' firefighters, like the wildfire firefighters, to be free enough to be able to attack the more pressing and active blazes, whereas we are basically kind of the mop up crew."

Evacuees from Yellowknife, territorial capital of the Northwest Territories, make their way along highway 3, at the edge of a burned forest, on their way into Ft. Providence, N.W.T., Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Bill Braden)

From logistics support to transport and reconnaissance, several RCAF aircraft are also assisting, including two CH-146 Griffon helicopters, one CC-138 Twin Otter plane and two CC-130J Hercules aircraft.

"We brought troops in, but there's also a contingent of about 90 people that are here right now who live here," Wilken added. "This is happening where I live and I'm driving around a deserted city, and it's really kind of surreal sometimes."

TRUDEAU COMMENTS ON 'HORRIFIC' WILDFIRES

At an unrelated announcement in P.E.I. ahead of a federal cabinet retreat, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented on the "horrific situations" in both the N.W.T. and B.C.

"People are fleeing for their lives, they're worried about their communities, and Canadians from coast to coast to coast are watching in horror, the images of apocalyptic devastation and fires going on in communities that so many of us know, and so many of us have friends in," Trudeau said.

"This is a scary and heartbreaking time for people."

The federal cabinet held an incident response group Monday to discuss the wildfires.

"It has been the very best of Canada that we've seen through these difficult times, through this incredibly difficult summer," Trudeau said.

"I just want to say how inspiring it is to know that no matter how bad things get, Canadians are going to continue to be there for each other." 

Defence Minister Bill Blair also spoke to reporters about the wildfires following the meeting.

"We got an update on the current fire situation as it exists in the Northwest Territories, and although the situation there remains quite concerning, I would characterize it perhaps as beginning to stabilize," Blair said on Monday from P.E.I.

"We're working very closely with their government and also with Indigenous governments in the region to make sure that the supports are there to help people recover."  

OUTSIDE CREWS JOINED FIGHT

Firefighters from other jurisdictions have also been helping to battle the flames.

Crews from Ontario, New Brunswick, Alberta, Yukon and pilots from Manitoba are currently on the ground. Firefighters from South Africa have been helping out as well, said Westwick.

"It truly is a cross-Canada effort," Westwick told CTVNews.ca. "The international assistance was absolutely appreciated, everyone coming together to keep people safe, which is exactly why we do this job." 

FORT SMITH

In Fort Smith¸ crews are preparing for the worst as the weather is predicted to be hot and dry over the next few days. The community, with a population of about 2,250, has a fire looming just outside its borders — it was approximately four kilometres away from the town on Monday and more than 4,300 square kilometres in size.

Westwick said crews are digging away forest down to the earth to "discourage" growth to slow the fire, which started in Wood Buffalo National Park.

"They've got tough days ahead down there, we've got some hot dry conditions coming and some southerly winds," he explained.

"That's a situation that could push the fire towards there, but they're doing absolutely everything they can, under the circumstances to protect these communities."

HAY RIVER

Southerly winds are pushing the fire toward Hay River closing Highway 5, and some northerly winds are pushing part of the fire "back on itself." The fire is now about eight kilometres away from the town of 3,500 people on the south shore of Great Slave Lake.

"It's a challenging situation down there in Hay River. Those areas are going to see significant drying as well over the next couple of days and a return of potential for southerly winds," Westwick told CTVNews.ca.

The community was one of the first places to be evacuated due to fires in the territory.

Similar to Fort Smith, crews are setting up defensive barriers to keep the fire from spreading including sprinkler systems around the town.

SMALLER COMMUNITIES

Many of the 238 fires burning across the territory are in remote or threatening small communities.

The community of Jean Marie River was forced to evacuate as a fire moved into the area. Located about 360 kilometres northwest of Hay River, the community had its highway access point cut off due to the blaze.

Another fire burning near the remote community of Inuvik was causing "significant concern."

"With some cooling temperatures and some good firefighting work, we've been able to eliminate the threat from the community there," Westwick said. "They were under an evacuation notice, (which has) since been lifted." 

As of Monday, the fire danger forecast for the Sahtu region, which includes the communities of Délı̨nę, Colville Lake, Norman Wells, Fort Good Hope and Tulita, ranged from low to high.

The community of Délı̨nę, on Great Bear Lake, had a high fire danger risk, but the threat changes to medium Tuesday and Wednesday, the website for the government of the N.W.T. shows.

N.W.T. residents over the age of 17 whose employment has been disrupted by an evacuation of at least one week can now apply for a one-time payment of $750 through the Evacuee Income Disruption Support program. Workers affected by the wildfires can also apply for employment insurance, or EI, online. 

With files from the Canadian Press

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