More cabin, home owners asked to leave Highway 3 after fire moves west

An evacuation alert at 7:40 p.m. Saturday expanded Friday's evacuation alert to cover another 20 kilometres of the N.W.T.'s Highway 3, closer to Behchokǫ̀.

People with homes or cabins between kilometre 256 to 290 are ordered to leave immediately. 

No communities are threatened by the fire, which is burning north of the only highway that connects Yellowknife to the rest of Canada. The evacuation order is in part to reduce risk of planned ignition operations designed to prevent the fire from reaching Behchokǫ̀.

The fire "grew significantly" overnight but did not reach Highway 3 as feared, according to N.W.T. Fire. South winds Saturday helped move the fire away from the highway. An ignition operation is being planned west of Stagg River to slow the fire's progress westwards. 

That operation is expected to produce "heavy, visible smoke." 

Highway 3 remained open as of 8:30 p.m. Get the latest highway updates here. 

There are 12 new fires burning in the territory since Friday, almost all in the South Slave region, despite a sweeping fire ban imposed in most of the region earlier this week. No communities are threatened. 

One particular fire caused special concern: a suspected person-caused fire on Oxbow Trail in Hay River, lit in spite of the fire ban. 

"This was an extremely close call," reads a notice from N.W.T. Fire. 

"At the scene were charred stumps and smouldering surrounded by thick, continuous forest and extremely dry fuel which could have ignited and grown fast."

The Hay River Fire Department and wildfire crews responded to put out the fire before it could grow. 

Three fires are also burning near the Taltson power complex, between 9 and 13 kilometres west of the dam, and 16 kilometres northwest on the far side of the Taltson River. All three fires "have grown significantly since discovery" Friday. Airtankers and helicopters are at work on the fires, with crews on the way. 

Another lightning-caused fire is about 14 kilometres northeast of Fort Smith, on the far side of the Slave River. One crew is at work to prevent the fire from reaching the river, and no cabins are at risk. 

People across the territory that lies south of the Arctic Circle can expect to see smoke over the next couple of days, particularly in Wekweètì, Norman Wells and Tulita, as well as Behchokǫ̀ and Fort Smith.