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Drivers should check before they travel on Highway 1 between the NWT and Alberta as wildfires led to more closures on Tuesday evening.
The territory’s highway conditions page showed the road closed from Enterprise to the border as of 7:30pm on Tuesday.
An hour earlier, the 511 Alberta service had reported that Highway 35 on the Alberta side of the border was “closed due to wildfire activity in the Northwest Territories” with no estimated reopening time.
By 9:30pm, the GNWT said the road had reopened with pilot cars escorting traffic.
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The highway’s status is likely to fluctuate, as has been the case throughout the summer. A fire burning since May in the area has gone through several periods of more extreme activity, driven by hot, dry and windy conditions, followed by quieter spells.
NWT Fire had warned of high winds across much of the territory this week.
Recently, drivers on that stretch of highway have been exposed to “very smoky conditions and flames visible from the road,” the wildfire agency noted in its daily update earlier on Tuesday.
“Fire crews are preparing for strong winds expected this week,” that update added.
