Firefighters pulled out of Fort Smith, N.W.T., amid safety concerns
CBC
What you need to know about the N.W.T. wildfires:
Fire officials say first responders are being pulled out of Fort Smith, N.W.T., to relocate their base of operations somewhere safer.
The community is under an evacuation order and fire officials say the next 48 hours could see "extreme" fire behaviour due to weather and fuel conditions. That means it could keep spreading closer to Fort Smith and Fort Fitzgerald, Alta.
Parks Canada predicts the fire will reach Fort Smith by 8 p.m. Monday.
"There have been significant impacts to the area's power supply, and the ability to continue to treat potable water, maintain communication lines, and healthcare services is no longer sustainable. This makes it very difficult for first responders to do their jobs safely," reads an update posted online by fire officials Monday afternoon.
First responders including staff and contractors from Parks Canada, Alberta Wildfire, the N.W.T. government, and the town of Fort Smith were to begin relocating out of the community on Monday.
A "small complement of critical resources" will remain in the area, based at Fort Chipewyan and Salt Mountain. They'll be working on ignition operations and structure protection.
Meantime, the territory's environment minister said Monday that the N.W.T. has no need at this point to declare a state of emergency due to wildfires.
That's despite fire threatening much of the southern territory, and five communities — representing an estimated 15 per cent of the territory's population — being under evacuation orders.
Minister Shane Thompson says so far, the territory has had the resources it's needed to deal with things.
"When we're looking for the resources that we need, all it has been is a phone call and we've been able to do it," he said, at a news conference on Monday afternoon.
On Monday, the N.W.T. government said 124 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) soldiers will join fire crews to help mop up fires, freeing up other firefighters to continue the battle against significant blazes. The military is also expected to deploy a helicopter and a twin otter to help.
"So at this point in time, a state of emergency would not do anything but cause more stress," Thompson said.
Meantime, the City of Yellowknife declared a local state of emergency on Monday afternoon. City officials said it allows the city to require contractors, who might have other contractual obligations, to help with firefighting efforts.