The Government of the Northwest Territories issued insistent warnings on Monday advising residents to evacuate Hay River, Enterprise, K’atl’odeeche First Nation, Fort Smith and surrounding areas as wildfires spread near the communities.
In Hay River and Fort Smith, residents were urged to avoid driving on local highways and to head to their local airport immediately as conditions were expected to get worse.
“Conditions are dangerous and will continue to worsen. Highway travel is not an option as a way out,” the government’s evacuation orders read.
“Your safest way out is on the plane, NOW. GO TO THE AIRPORT NOW.”
Long-term care residents had been transported to Yellowknife by Monday morning, while other residents were being airlifted from the Hay River airport to Grand Prairie, Alta., and Fort McMurray, Alta., according to the Town of Hay River.
The municipality said firefighters from other areas, four helicopters and water bombers were heading to the community on Monday to help put out the flames, which travelled approximately 39 kilometres towards Hay River on Sunday “due to high winds.”
“Significant structure damage” was reported in the Hamlet of Enterprise, Patterson Road area, parts of Paradise Gardens, along with “significant damage” to the Northwestel Fibre lines and electrical lines south of Patterson Road, officials said.
“Our thoughts are with those that have lost homes and businesses,” the Town of Hay River said in a Facebook post.
The rescue operation is one of the largest in the history of the Northwest Territories, which has had six community evacuations so far this wildfire season, Environment and Climate Change Minister Shane Thompson said.
With communication lines compromised in the South Slave region, officials were trying their best to share timely updates with community members.
1/2 I am saddened that another NWT community is being evacuated due to a wildfire – marking the sixth such community evacuation this season. Residents of Fort Smith, please know that you will be supported during this challenging time.
— Shane Thompson (@Nahendeh_MLA) August 13, 2023
In an update Monday afternoon, officials said two fires were of particular concern — one moving north from Alberta and Wood Buffalo National Park and another moving east from Kakisa, both of which had “grown significantly” since a previous update.
“Today, less strong but still significant winds will continue to push both fires south and east,” the Government of the Northwest Territories said.
Former Dene National Chief Noeline Villebrun said she was travelling from Yellowknife to Fort Resolution for a funeral on Sunday afternoon, but was turned away because of a fire in the region.
“When we spoke to the highway patrol officer, he shared some information and he had said that the fire had travelled 18 kilometres in one hour, … and that's got to do with the wind,” Villebrun told CTV News Channel on Monday.
“The wind was very strong as we're driving, we (could) see the trees that were bent over. That's how fast the wind was blowing, so that didn't help the fire.”
Although her community was not impacted, Villebrun said she felt “a lot of anxiety” and was concerned for those who were directly impacted by the wildfires.
“Even though we live in Yellowknife, we have family all around those communities. We're all connected. So if one community is impacted, you know, we feel that devastation and we try to do what we can by raising money or putting up someone in accommodations or sharing food,” she added.
The Canadian military was called in on Sunday to assist with firefighting efforts in the Northwest Territories as the country faces its worst wildfire season ever.
As of Monday, there were 1,096 active forest fires in Canada, 234 of which were in the Northwest Territories, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
Lynx Air announced Thursday that it has filed for creditor protection from the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. The airline said in a release that it will cease operations at midnight, Monday, Feb. 26, with flights continuing until then.
A spacecraft built and flown by Texas-based company Intuitive Machines landed near the moon's south pole on Thursday, the first U.S. touchdown on the lunar surface in more than half a century and the first ever achieved by the private sector.
A Waterloo couple is grateful to be back home after they say they were detained for several hours at a Punta Cana airport, accused of carrying drugs.
A photo of federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay eating lobster in Malaysia during an official trip has some people seeing red.
Ten delays, one cancellation, and about 27 hours later, Air Canada travellers trying to jet out of Fort Lauderdale finally made what one of them is calling a 'hellish journey' back to Toronto.
A set of smart vending machines at the University of Waterloo is expected to be removed from campus after students raised privacy concerns about their software.
The judge overseeing the US$355 million civil fraud case has denied Donald Trump’s request to delay the judgment for a month.
Premier David Eby has been clear that speculators are in his crosshairs, and with the 2024 budget his government has announced details of a new 'BC Home Flipping Tax.'
Research has shown that sex trafficking is rampant. For Canadians reading this story this means that within one kilometre from where you’re presently located, a young person is being lured into sex trafficking.
Ten delays, one cancellation, and about 27 hours later, Air Canada travellers trying to jet out of Fort Lauderdale finally made what one of them is calling a 'hellish journey' back to Toronto.
Police have arrested and charged 31 people after hundreds of drivers gathered in Peel Region to allegedly race their vehicles over a two-day period.
Scottie Barnes had a double-double to power the Raptors past the Brooklyn Nets 121-93 on Thursday to snap Toronto's three-game losing skid.
France Bélisle announced Thursday morning she is resigning as mayor of Gatineau, Que., effective immediately.
Lynx Air announced Thursday that it has filed for creditor protection from the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. The airline said in a release that it will cease operations at midnight, Monday, Feb. 26, with flights continuing until then.
Thursday marked another warmer than average winter day in Ottawa, making it feel like it's time to put away that winter gear – or it might be the perfect time to buy some.
Police are investigating a shooting in New Tecumseth on Kidd Crescent on Thursday afternoon.
Michael Sedo returned to the witness stand in a Newmarket courtroom on Thursday for cross-examination from the defence in the case against his father, John Sedo, the Aurora, Ont. man accused of killing his wife, Helen, who disappeared in July 2020.
Sixteen individuals face charges after the most significant weapons bust in the province's history, with officers seizing illegal handguns, assault rifles and drugs with an estimated street value of $3.25 million.
A Waterloo couple is grateful to be back home after they say they were detained for several hours at a Punta Cana airport, accused of carrying drugs.
A set of smart vending machines at the University of Waterloo is expected to be removed from campus after students raised privacy concerns about their software.
An app that aims to reduce waste from restaurants and grocery stores, while helping shoppers save money, is gaining traction across Waterloo Region.
A London judge has handed down her sentence in the case of Nathaniel Veltman, convicted of killing four members of a Muslim family and seriously injuring a young boy in June of 2021.
A gas leak filled a south London home with gas, forcing the evacuation of neighbouring homes.
They came to Canada to pursue their dreams. Now their families have been left in agony.
Flush with cash from Ottawa’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF), cities like London and Guelph are moving ahead with new plans to build more and varied homes while Windsor continues its own efforts to address the housing affordability crisis without.
People in the Windsor region faced some of the shortest walk-in clinic wait times across Ontario in 2023, according to a new report.
The Greater Essex County District School Board has landed on the names of two new schools, but not everyone is happy about it.
One-third of the beds in the McGill University Health Centre's cancer ward has closed since last fall due to staff shortages, which is raising concerns on what effects this might have on patients, CTV News has learned.
A 43-year-old man was shot and injured Thursday evening in Montreal North.
Pro-Palestinian protestors blocked the entrances of McGill University's Bronfman building Thursday morning, calling on McGill's Desautels Faculty of Management to divest from interests in Israel.
A special weather statement has been issued by Environment Canada for much of Nova Scotia from Friday evening to Saturday evening.
Trevor Boudreau, minister of Community Services and L’Nu Affairs, is stepping down “due to personal and health reasons,” according to a news release from the Nova Scotia premier’s office.
Part of Highway 7 in Grand Bay Westfield, N.B., is closed after a head-on collision between a tractor trailer and a car.
The city is one step closer to stopping millions of litres of untreated sewage from spilling into the Red River.
A Winnipeg senior who was almost swindled out of $5,000 by a phone scam is sharing her story in hopes of saving others from falling victim.
The Winnipeg Police Service is searching for two suspects, after a teenager was found dead in a downtown apartment complex earlier this month.
Lynx Air announced Thursday that it has filed for creditor protection from the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. The airline said in a release that it will cease operations at midnight, Monday, Feb. 26, with flights continuing until then.
Alberta Health Services has implemented a partial hiring freeze until the end of the first quarter of 2024, according to an AHS memo released by the Opposition NDP.
Two people were seriously injured in a crash involving four vehicles on Stoney Trail on Wednesday evening.
Alberta Health Services has implemented a partial hiring freeze until the end of the first quarter of 2024, according to an AHS memo released by the Opposition NDP.
Westlock residents are voting Thursday on a bylaw that would prohibit rainbow crosswalks, a common symbol of support for the LGBTQ2S+ community, and restrict the town to flying only government flags.
The Alberta government is facing criticism the day after the premier suggested in a televised address its upcoming budget will follow austerity measures.
Stop-work orders have been issued for a Vancouver construction site where a worker died Wednesday, according to officials.
A B.C. woman whose flight was cancelled spoke out about Flair Airlines' refusal to rebook her on a flight operated by a competitor – something that runs afoul of passenger rights legislation.
A shooting that left four people injured in White Rock, B.C., early Thursday morning was captured on a nearby surveillance camera, and CTV News has obtained the shocking video.
A photo of federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay eating lobster in Malaysia during an official trip has some people seeing red.
Justin Trudeau took an unprompted jab at Pierre Poilievre over a Senate porn bill that the prime minister says could usher in a digital ID for adults who want to browse certain websites.
Canada is the only NATO member without a plan or a timeline to reach the alliance's target of spending two per cent of GDP on defence, according to the U.S. ambassador to NATO.
More people are injured by treadmills than any other piece of exercise equipment, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. More than 22,000 treadmill injuries resulted in hospital emergency room visits in 2019.
Amid a growing number of measles outbreaks in the United States and Europe, health officials are warning the public about the possibilities of outbreaks in Canada, with one infectious disease specialist saying even a few measles cases can spark an outbreak.
Alabama's largest hospital paused in vitro fertilization treatments Wednesday as providers and patients across the state scrambled to assess the impact of a court ruling that said frozen embryos are the legal equivalent of children.
A spacecraft built and flown by Texas-based company Intuitive Machines landed near the moon's south pole on Thursday, the first U.S. touchdown on the lunar surface in more than half a century and the first ever achieved by the private sector.
A set of smart vending machines at the University of Waterloo is expected to be removed from campus after students raised privacy concerns about their software.
Putting a wet iPhone in uncooked rice has for years been a popular method to dry it out, but the company now says that's not what users should do.
Sylvester Stallone revealed that he had seven major surgeries after suffering a neck fracture shooting a fight scene with Stone Cold Steve Austin on the set of “The Expendables” in 2010.
Former talk show host Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, according to representatives for Williams.
Toronto native Mae Martin will host the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards.
Lynx Air announced Thursday that it has filed for creditor protection from the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. The airline said in a release that it will cease operations at midnight, Monday, Feb. 26, with flights continuing until then.
The high cost of groceries isn't just taking a bite out of Canadians' bank accounts, it's also devouring any hope that prices may decrease.
Canada's largest grocer expects this year to be much like the last: customers continuing to seek discounts and deals, leading to more growth at the company’s discount brands and banners, and higher profits.
Bobi the dog, who died last year reportedly at the age of 31, has been stripped of the world’s oldest ever dog title following a review by Guinness World Records (GWR), the organization announced Thursday.
The newest multi-millionaire is advised to sign the back of their winning ticket immediately and head to a retailer to have it validated, so the OLG is notified.
More people are injured by treadmills than any other piece of exercise equipment, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. More than 22,000 treadmill injuries resulted in hospital emergency room visits in 2019.
Mississippi's Republican attorney general sued the Republican state auditor Thursday, saying the auditor is trying to usurp her authority over recovering interest on misspent welfare money from retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre, money that was supposed to help some of the poorest people in the U.S.
He's a runner, a juggler and now Jean-Marc Doiron finds himself joggling, and chasing a world record.
Auston Matthews scored his 50th and 51st goals of the season in his hometown to break a tie as the fastest U.S.-born player to reach 50 and help the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the crumbling Arizona Coyotes 6-3 on Wednesday night.
Toyota is conducting a safety recall to approximately 28,061 SUVs and pickup trucks in Canada involving transmission issues, the company said in a press release on Thursday.
There are additional aspects about buying an EV that you'll need to consider in order to get the best value. The car experts at Edmunds have put together five tips on what you need to know.
Even though authorities are trying to crack down on car thefts in Montreal, three men accused of operating a luxury car theft ring in the city walked free last month because it took too long for their case to go to trial.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
