The hamlet of Fort Providence, N.W.T., put residents on an evacuation alert on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.
The hamlet initially posted an evacuation notice around 3:44 p.m to its community announcements page. It upgraded that to an alert shortly after.
Fort Providence’s senior administrative officer, Susan Christie, wrote that there is a wildfire in the area that “may present an increased risk to the community.”
The community’s 700 residents are advised to prepare for a potential emergency or evacuation.
Fort Providence Mayor Danny Beaulieu told CBC News on Saturday night that the evacuation plan, if the situation calls for it, would be for people to go to Hay River. He said there will be buses for the elderly and those without vehicles.
Beaulieu said he is not expecting the community to need to evacuate on Saturday night.
Beaulieu, a former firefighter, said the wind was extreme on Saturday.
“That was one of the worst fire behaviour I’ve seen in a long time,” he said.
He said the N.W.T. Department of Municipal and Community Affairs plans to provide two buses that will be at the Snowshoe Inn on Sunday.
Beaulieu said the nursing station will stay open, unless it gets too smokey.
He said the Deh Cho Bridge which crosses the Mackenzie River on the way to Hay River, is open to two lanes of traffic.
The N.W.T. government’s DriveNWT map showed the bridge only open to one lane. Spokesperson Amy Kennedy clarified in an email that that had been the case due to construction, but both lanes were being opened whenever possible.
The highway running north to Yellowknife was closed as of Saturday afternoon, meaning residents would be unable to go to Yellowknife.
As of 6 p.m. Saturday, the N.W.T. Department of Environment and Climate Change said a wildfire north of Fort Providence had seen “extraordinary growth.”
Richard Lafferty, who lives near the highway in Fort Providence, told CBC News the weather has been extreme in the community.
“The treetops are just waving in the wind, the sky is an orangey-blue and smoke galore,” he said.
That fire, which had been 24 kilometres away on Friday, is now 12 kilometres from the community. It has crossed Highway 3.
The department said crews are setting up sprinklers and water cannons to help protect Fort Providence.
Speaking to CBC Saturday evening, Arlene Evans, the manager of the Fort Providence Northern Store, said they will have gas and food for everyone who needs it and they plan to stay open for as long as they need to.
Evans said it’s extremely smoky in the community.
“It’s snowing ashes here,” she said, “it’s close enough and it’s big enough to send ashes our way.”
An employee at the Big River Gas Station, just outside the Fort Providence access road, said if an evacuation order goes into effect, he plans to stay open long enough to ensure everyone who needs gas is able to get it.
The employee said the only reason they would close would be if the authorities ordered them to.
The Big River station and Fort Providence’s Northern Store are the only two places to fill up between Enterprise and Behchokǫ̀.
As of 4:10 p.m. on Saturday, Jean Marie River First Nation issued another evacuation notice. The community of about 65 people has been watching a nearby wildfire since early July, and lifted its original evacuation notice just last week.
A notice is the lowest on a three-tier system the territory uses for emergencies, and means residents should have their personal belongings prepared in case the situation changes. The second tier is an evacuation alert and the most severe is an evacuation order, which means people need to leave.
In a post to Facebook, the hamlet described the re-instated notice as a notice “to be aware and prepare.”
Residents are advised to keep a full tank of gas at all times, be prepared to take personal items and be ready to leave if need be.
In its 6 p.m. update, the territory said a wildfire about 12 and a half kilometres northwest of Jean Marie River “grew significantly” Saturday afternoon due to winds in the area.
It said firefighting crews are working to keep it from moving closer to the community.
