Hay River officials urge remaining residents to leave as wildfire risk rises

The MLA for Hay River North and the Town of Hay River are both urging residents who are still in the town to get out after a challenging day of firefighting.

The out-of-control wildfire raging nearby breached two control lines meant to prevent its growth, said N.W.T. Fire on Thursday night. Friday is expected to be "even worse," N.W.T. Fire said.

At last count, the fire had burned through 1,977 hectares of land in the immediate vicinity of Hay River and Kátł'odeeche First Nation. Most of the combined 3,500 residents have left both communities, though some have remained in their homes despite an evacuation order.

"Make no mistake – there is rising risk to the Town of Hay River as this situation unfolds," N.W.T. Fire wrote.

The Town of Hay River also issued an update late Thursday, where it urged remaining residents to flee "for their own safety."

The wildfire breached a break to the south of Hay River, increasing the risk to the town (Town of Hay River/Facebook).

In an interview, Hay River North MLA R.J. Simpson said officials did not know how many people were still in the community.

At the bare minimum, he said, residents should register with the evacuation centre and let people know where they are.

However, he echoed the town's call for residents to leave.

"At some point, you know, we could be talking about life and death," he said.

"The health centre is not operational, so there's not a full hospital to help people. If there are injuries, there's not enough first responders to go in and take people out of their homes. You know, everyone is busy, everyone's exhausted who's been working there."

'Surging fire' jumped dozer lines

N.W.T. Fire said "surging fire" jumped two dozer lines — one on the northwest flank near Kátł'odeeche First Nation's Old Village, and one on the southwest flank near Hay River — late in the afternoon and sent smoke rolling across the area.

It said heavy winds are expected to shift north-northeast by Friday afternoon, pushing the fire toward Highway 5 and increasing risk to Hay River.

"We believe there is a very good chance the fire reaches Highway 5 tomorrow," it wrote Thursday night.

As of Thursday evening, there was no additional damage reported in either community beyond the 15 structures that burned on Kátł'odeeche First Nation earlier in the week.

"Our priority is going to be structure protection," said Mike Westwick, a fire information officer with N.W.T. Fire.

Westwick said they have requested additional heavy equipment, sprinkler kits and personnel from various locations within the N.W.T.

"Everybody is just very focused on the job," said Westwick. "It's dangerous work. Everyone on site is really taking care of each other, though, making sure that safety is the number one priority for everybody out there."

Simpson said there was talk about doing a controlled burn across the river from downtown Hay River — which he described as a sign of how bad things have gotten, given how close it would be to the town.

"One of the things we do well in the territory is fight wildfires," Simpson said.

"I have full confidence in the crews that are working on it, but sometimes you can't stop mother nature."

RELATED: Evacuations ordered earlier this week due to N.W.T. wildfire

This story was written by Francis Tessier-Burns with files from Hilary Bird, published by CBC News.