The NWT government issued an advisory on Tuesday warning drivers on Highway 3 between Behchokǫ̀ and Fort Providence that a nearby wildfire could disrupt their travel.
Several fires are burning near the highway in the remote region between those communities. Multiple fires “may approach the highway within the next 24 hours,” NWT Fire said on Tuesday afternoon.
The nearest to the highway is ZF015, which began on June 30 and was last estimated by NWT Fire at three kilometres from the road. ZF016 is nearby.
“Our team is actioning high priority fires in the North Slave closer to communities and other values and will reassess response to these wildfires as we continue to address the numerous new lightning starts,” the territory’s wildfire agency stated.
The NWT’s Department of Infrastructure said on Tuesday that drivers in the vicinity of that fire – from approximately km markers 168 to 176 on the highway – should “expect delays, reduce speed, drive with caution” because of the possibility of nearby fire and smoke.
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The road remained open as of 1pm on Tuesday. Latest travel conditions are available via the DriveNWT website.
Highway 3 is the only road connecting Yellowknife, Behchokǫ̀ and Whatì to southern Canada.
Meanwhile, Highway 9 to Whatì has fire ZF017 20 km to its west.
“It appears closer than it is to travellers. Smoke may impact visibility due to this fire, as well as other fires further south. This fire is not likely to reach the highway in the coming 24 hours, and is not threatening cabins, communities, or infrastructure otherwise,” NWT Fire stated on Tuesday.
“Please avoid calling in these fires,” the agency added. “We are aware of them and our operations team is getting overwhelmed by call volume.”
You can instead call 867-445-5484 for the latest wildfire information.
