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Anyone living along a large stretch of Highway 3 right up to the edge of Yellowknife is now being told to evacuate.
Shortly before 10am on Tuesday, NWT Fire told anyone between km 284 of the highway and km 329 – the city’s western municipal boundary – “should leave as soon as it is safe.”
The evacuation order does not extend to the municipality of Yellowknife itself, but several western areas of Yellowknife remain on evacuation alert.
Fire ZF015 was 16 km west of Yellowknife at the start of the day.
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“Westerly winds are expected today which will push the fire further east. While we do not expect the fire to move to this end point before the weekend, it is important to be safe,” wildfire information officer Mike Westwick stated.
Highway 3 remains open as of 9:50am.
“Highway staff will allow you to proceed if you are leaving regardless of highway closures. Officers will go door to door to ensure people have received this message,” Westwick wrote.
Yellowknife has just over 20,000 residents.
Some of those residents had already taken the decision to leave of their own accord by Wednesday, though city and territorial officials have each stated they do not expect the fire to reach Yellowknife in the coming days.
The city plans to follow a shelter-in-community approach, moving people to unaffected areas of Yellowknife, if a wildfire reaches western areas.
