Officials are cautioning still evacuees against returning to the city. The Yellowknife blaze was 15 kilometres northwest of the municipal boundary Saturday afternoon
The fires threatening Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, are no longer expected to reach the city this weekend, although officials cautioned evacuees against returning to the area.
“It is now unlikely this fire would reach the outskirts of Yellowknife by the end of the weekend due to the slightly cooler-than-forecast conditions, help from rain, and successful firefighting efforts,” Mr. Westwick said in an update Saturday. “This is good news, but there are still tough, hot, dry, windy days ahead.”
NWT officials, on Aug. 16, ordered Yellowknife’s 22,000 residents to leave by Aug. 18 at noon, either by air or the lone highway south. Other communities, including Hay River and Fort Smith, had evacuated earlier in the week. Most NWT evacuees headed to Alberta, and Calgary said it had capacity to absorb 5,000 displaced people. Alberta’s largest city hit that mark Friday, so Yellowknife’s evacuation flights are now landing in Winnipeg.
“Last night was probably my best sleep all week,” Ms. Alty said in an interview Saturday afternoon. “Huge relief having the majority of the community safely evacuated.” Visibility around Yellowknife was good Saturday afternoon, allowing crews to fight fires with helicopters and airtankers. Temperatures are expected to climb Sunday, with winds from the west. This will lead to increased fire activity.Nelson Johnson, Yellowknife’s fire chief, said his department has spent weeks preparing for the possibility flames will encroach on the capital city.
The department has 70 firefighters on standby, working 24 hours on, 24 hours off. They are patrolling the community in fire trucks, scanning for incidents.
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