The City of Yellowknife has declared a local state of emergency on Monday due to the "imminent threat" of wildfires.
A state of emergency allows the city to mobilize resources to address the fire risks. The declaration happened during a special council meeting convened Monday evening.
The "trigger" for the emergency declaration, Yellowknife's city manager said, was when the Behchokǫ̀ wildfire crossed Boundary Creek about 30 kilometres away from Yellowknife along Highway 3.
"We decided that when it hits an evacuation order for that area (kilometre 307 to 320 of Highway 3), that was time for us to take action to mobilize the equipment that we need to ensure that we're protecting the city to the maximum way that we can," Sheila Bassi-Kellett said at council.
The city is declaring an emergency so it can take pre-emptive measures, she said.
Three fires are burning near Yellowknife, a live fire map from the Northwest Territories shows. The Behchokǫ̀ fire has spread to 1,361 kilometres in size. Two other fires burning nearby are 407.2 and 409.2 kilometres in size, data updated by government on Monday shows.
Mayor Rebecca Alty noted the emergency declaration is not an evacuation notice or order.
"The declaration of a state of local emergency is not an evacuation alert. It's not an evacuation order," she said at the special council meeting. "It's about mobilizing all resources to reduce the risk of forest fires."
A number of fires are burning out of control across the territory.
Other fires in the N.W.T. have forced the communities of Hay River, K’atl’odeeche First Nation, Fort Smith and the surrounding areas to evacuate.
Residents received a notice on Monday and were told to head to their local airport immediately as highways were deemed unsafe.
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the Behchokǫ̀ fire was 306 kilometres away from Yellowknife. A previous version incorrectly stated the fire sizes.
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