Hay River mayor to give wildfire update | CBC News

The Mayor of Hay River is giving an update on the wildfire threatening the southern N.W.T. community at 1:30 p.m. MT on Saturday.

Anybody remaining in the South Slave hub, except for those fighting a fire coming close to the western edge of town, was ordered to evacuate Friday due to the active threat, according to an update on the N.W.T.’s Public Safety website. 

Essential workers were also urged to reach the airport and seek further instructions. Most of the civilian population had already left more than a week ago due to the wildfire threat. 

Those who stay behind are being cautioned that they do so at their own risk as “there will be no emergency services or response available,” according to the Public Safety update. 

Mayor Kandis Jameson was among those who boarded an evacuation flight to Edmonton on Friday night, along with her dogs, according to a post on the town’s page. 

“Waking [Saturday] morning we see that Hay River has survived in much better condition than any of us imagined last night,” the post said.

In a Saturday morning update, an N.W.T. fire official said the wildfire bearing down on Hay River likely burned structures west of the town but spared the town itself.

For most of late Friday, the fire closed much of the 10 kilometres between it and the community of about 3,500 people after a “blow-up event” sent a wall of flame heading up the highway toward Hay River.

As of Saturday morning, N.W.T. Fire said structures in Hay River had been spared, along with the water treatment plant. The fire agency also believes there were no structures lost in West Channel.

Officials needed better visibility to confirm structural loss near Great Slave Lake.

“We want to be extremely clear: no frontline firefighters left when essential support workers were evacuated,” the fire officials’ early Saturday morning update read. 

There will not be a territorial wildfire news conference on the larger wildfire situation on Saturday evening, officials confirmed. 

Jameson’s news conference comes the same day N.W.T. Premier Caroline Cochrane met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Edmonton to discuss the need for additional and better northern infrastructure to make the territory more resilient against future major weather events. 

The territorial government has provided the following links for residents: