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A fire burns near Enterprise, NWT, in 2023. Wildfires in parts of the territory have prompted evacuation orders and alerts this week.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
The night before they had to leave their home in the Northwest Territories because of an encroaching wildfire, Paschalina Nadli and her daughter carefully packed up their truck.
Their community of Fort Providence, NWT, where fewer than 1,000 people live, is located west of Great Slave Lake along the Mackenzie River. It was placed on evacuation alert on Saturday evening as a wildfire raged nearby.
Ms. Nadli loaded her vehicle with practical items such as blankets, clothing, medications and pieces of identification for her and her family.
She made sure to also pack irreplaceable items such as printed photographs and hard drives containing even more photos, in case her house wasn’t there when the family returned.
“I basically was prepared myself. I’m not too sure about anybody else,” Ms. Nadli said.
Overnight, severe northerly winds pushed a cold front into the area. Without any rain, this creates some of the most dangerous fire weather, said Mike Westwick, a fire information officer with the territory.
By Sunday, the fire was within two kilometres of the community.
Ms. Nadli received a notice on her phone at about 5:30 a.m. on Sunday to be ready to leave. The order to evacuate was issued at around 9 a.m.
“I’m worried about my home,” she said. “I guess everybody else is.”
Wildfire destroys 20 homes in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley
On Sunday, Fort Providence became the second Northwest Territories community placed under an evacuation order in recent days, with residents headed to Hay River. On Friday, 500 residents of Whatì were relocated to Behchokǫ̀ and Yellowknife.
A third community, Jean Marie River, remains under evacuation notice.
The displaced residents are among many across Canada forced to flee their homes during what has been a summer marred by wildfires.
From coast to coast, communities remain under evacuation notices as wildfires, made worse by dry and hot conditions, permanently altered landscapes across the country.
In Nova Scotia, the wildfire in Annapolis County continues to grow. According to the Department of Natural Resources, the new estimated size of the fire is 8,465 hectares.
In British Columbia, a spate of hot weather and low humidity has contributed to an increase in wildfire activity, nearly doubling the number of active fires in the province over several days.
As of Sunday afternoon, there were 144 active wildfires burning in the province, including 58 considered out of control. The majority – 108 – were caused by lightning strikes, which have affected the Cariboo and Coastal regions most.
On Saturday night, the Regional District of East Kootenay issued an evacuation alert for three civic addresses and some recreation sites next to Bugaboo Provincial Park, meaning people in the area should be prepared to leave should an evacuation order be issued.
The Kingston fire in Newfoundland and Labrador’s Conception Bay North is now under control. In a statement, the provincial government announced Saturday that evacuation alerts were lifted for select communities including Kingston and for residents of Small Point-Broad Cove-Blackhead-Adam’s Cove.
In Yellowknife, the air quality health index reached its maximum rating of 10+ on Sunday because of smoke from nearby wildfires.
Mr. Westwick said firefighting crews in Fort Providence are working alongside the community’s government to protect homes and other buildings from the blaze.
He said that structure-protection specialists have been brought in and are setting up water cannons and sprinklers on the northern boundary of the community.
“The idea behind that is to get water at the community’s edge, to reduce the likelihood of ember transfer onto homes in the community and to protect the most at-risk structures,” Mr. Westwick said.
He said that bulldozers and mulchers were being used to widen the fire guard along the northern edge of the community.
Structure-protection efforts were the primary tactic crews were employing on Sunday because the fire front is so wide – about 10 kilometres long – that a direct attack on the blaze would likely be ineffective in the narrow window of time when weather conditions would be favourable enough to have an impact, Mr. Westwick said.
He said the town of Hay River, located about two hours southeast of Fort Providence, is prepared to welcome evacuees “with open arms.”
“They have a lot of experience with wildfire-related evacuations themselves last couple of years,” said Mr. Westwick. “They certainly know what it’s like.”
Ms. Nadli spoke with The Globe and Mail on Sunday as cots were being set up in Hay River’s arena.
She said she was concerned about her husband, a fire technician, who stayed behind in Fort Providence to help with suppression efforts.
“I’m worried about everybody back home that are staying, but I’ll feel better when he phones me,” she said.
With a report from Andrea Woo
