Fort Simpson, N.W.T., arranges last wildfire evacuation transport for residents
The Village of Fort Simpson, N.W.T., says it's arranging one last transportation option for residents who haven't left the wildfire-threatened community yet.
Territorial officials issued an evacuation order for Fort Simpson on June 28 due to the immediate danger posed by a nearby wildfire. In a Facebook post on Sunday afternoon, the village once again requested for non-essential residents to leave and said transportation would be available at the recreation centre on Monday at noon.
“Make sure you are there early as this will be the last transportation to be arranged,” the village stated.
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The mode of transportation was not immediately clear.
The village, which also extended its state-of-emergency on Sunday by another week, said anyone who needs assistance to evacuate can call (867) 695-2253 before 6 p.m., or (867) 695-6501 after 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, N.W.T. wildfire officials say they’re beginning to see a potential turning point when it comes to firefighting efforts, though the danger level is still high.
“We know where the light at the end of the tunnel might be and we can get in that direction,” Forrest Tower, wildfire information officer, said on Sunday afternoon.
Cooler temperatures meant good firefighting weather over the weekend, and Tower said crews have been able to make progress on the fire.
Tower said there is “still a lot of risk” in some areas, especially around the Wildrose and Gil Crescent subdivisions. He’s hopeful that, barring any major changes in the weather, crews will be able to be more proactive, instead of just reacting to fire behaviour.
“We're getting there,” he said. “We're maybe out of the risk of large structure-to-structure fire happening, it's more seek-and-destroy in terms of any heat or smoke that crews are finding.”
Firefighting efforts continue along Liard, Snye rivers The fire took a run west of the airport and Highway 1, burning down to the Liard River over the weekend. Significant embers fell as the smoke column collapsed to the south of the river and N.W.T. Fire said in its latest update at 5 p.m. Sunday that there is a likelihood of spot fires if wind speeds increase.
The ferry landing and airport have not been impacted yet. Aircraft continued working overnight dropping water and retardant, while crews carried out controlled ignitions to remove fuel along the western side of the airstrip to further protect it.
On the eastern flank of the fire, upslope of the Snye River, aircraft worked on suppressing the fire Sunday to limit the chance of embers making it across the Snye into the main townsite. Twenty more firefighters from B.C. are joining the effort, arriving today.
“So it looks like slowly diminishing the threat … to the actual town site, as long as we don't have any unforeseen huge weather in terms of very high winds, but that's not in the forecast,” said Tower.
The Village of Fort Simpson is taking over the assessment of structures that may have been damaged, Tower said. At this time, no homes have been reported lost, but Tower was quick to point out that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been damage to outbuildings and residences.
While the large flames and smoke columns may have diminished, it will be some time he said before it is safe for residents to return. Before people can come back home, he said, crews would have to be confident enough in the situation to remove structure protection that cannot be left in place when residents return.
Tower said right now, the issue is how to house and feed the large number of fire crew members, plus support people. He estimates more than 130 people are directly engaged with fire response, presenting a logistical as well as a safety problem with the fire crossing the highway at multiple points.
This article, written by Jessica Davey-Quantick, was originally published for CBC News.