Smoke prevents Yellowknife from holding welcome home celebration
Smoke has forced Yellowknife to cancel a celebration marking the return of residents to the city after a wildfires-prompted evacuation that lasted for weeks.
The Northwest Territories capital had planned a "Welcome Home" gathering on Saturday at Somba K'e Civic Plaza, featuring live music, bouncy castles and a shop-local contest.
But the city posted a notice on its website that due to poor air quality, the celebration has been cancelled due to safety concerns, although the shop-local promotion was still on.
Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a special air-quality statement on Saturday for Yellowknife, saying "smoke is causing or expected to cause poor air quality and reduced visibility."
Everyone in the city of approximately 20,000 was ordered to leave in mid-August due to a nearby wildfire, and they were only allowed to return on Sept. 6 when the evacuation order was downgraded to an alert.
Yellowknife says on its website there is free access to its fieldhouse track and indoor playground until air quality improves.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2023.
RISKIN REPORTS
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

'Shadows of children': For the youngest hostages, life moves forward in whispers
After seven weeks held hostage in the tunnels of Gaza, they are finally free to laugh and chat and play. But some of the children who have come back from captivity are still reluctant to raise their voices above a whisper.
Ibrahim Ali found guilty of killing 13-year-old girl in B.C.
A jury has found Ibrahim Ali guilty of killing a 13-year-old girl whose body was found in a Burnaby, B.C., park in 2017.
Protests at UN climate talks, from Israel-Hamas war to detainees, see 'shocking level of censorship'
Activists designated Saturday a day of protest at the COP28 summit in Dubai. But the rules of the game in the tightly controlled United Arab Emirates meant sharp restrictions on what demonstrators could say, where they could walk and what their signs could portray.
Marathon Conservative carbon tax filibuster ends after nearly 30 consecutive hours of House votes
The Conservative-prompted filibuster in the House of Commons ended Friday night, after MPs spent nearly 30 hours voting non-stop on the government's spending plans.
New U.S. aid for Ukraine by year-end seems increasingly of out reach as GOP ties it to border security
A deal to provide further U.S. assistance to Ukraine by year-end appears to be increasingly out of reach for President Joe Biden. The impasse is deepening in Congress despite dire warnings from the White House about the consequences of inaction as Republicans insist on pairing the aid with changes to America's immigration and border policies.
Israel presses ahead with bombarding Gaza, including areas it told Palestinians to evacuate to
Israeli warplanes struck parts of the Gaza Strip in relentless bombardment Saturday, hitting some of the dwindling bits of land it had told Palestinians to evacuate to in the territory's south. The strikes came a day after the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, despite its wide support.
Turkiye's Erdogan accuses the West of 'barbarism' and Islamophobia in the war in Gaza
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used a speech on human rights Saturday to accuse the West of "barbarism" for its stance on the Israel-Hamas war and what he alleged was its toleration of Islamophobia.
CSIS boss apologizes for response to rape claim, revamps anti-harassment plans
Canada's spy chief has apologized to staff for his response to rape and harassment allegations in the agency's British Columbia office.
Observers see OPEC 'panicking' as COP28 climate talks focus on possible fossil fuel phase-out
Veteran negotiators at the United Nations climate talks Saturday said that the push to wean the world from dirty fossil fuels had gained so much momentum that they had poked a powerful enemy: the oil industry.