Fire crews battle blaze near Yellowknife as local residents pitch in to help
CTV
As crews work to subdue a blaze near the territorial capital of Yellowknife, some who have stayed behind are doing what they can to help those fighting the fires.
As crews work to subdue a blaze near the territorial capital of Yellowknife, some who have stayed behind are doing what they can to help those fighting the fires.
"We're a community grocery store, we'll try to stay open as long as possible," Justin Nelson, general manager of the Yellowknife Co-op, told CTVNews.ca Sunday by phone.
Deemed an essential service, the Co-op has stayed open with reduced hours to help feed essential workers and provide some semblance of normalcy in this "chaotic time," Nelson said.
Most of Yellowknife, a city of about 22,000 people, has evacuated due to the threat of nearby fires, including one about 15 kilometres northwest of the city limits that remains out of control.
Officials say more than 19,000 people have left the city to date, with residents mostly heading to accommodations and evacuation centres in Alberta and Manitoba.
An estimated 2,600 people are still in the capital, including 1,600 who are considered non-essential workers.
The mayor of Yellowknife, Rebecca Alty, has encouraged those still in the city to leave, in part so first responders can "focus on the threat at hand and not trying to get people out of the way of the danger."
