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The checkpoint at the entrance to Fort Providence has been lifted and hundreds of evacuees are being welcomed back into the community.
An evacuation order was issued on August 31 as wildfire SS014 came within a kilometre of the hamlet.
A re-entry plan was announced over the past weekend and residents have known since Tuesday that they would be welcomed back into the community from 12pm on Thursday, ending what was ultimately an 11-day evacuation.
Drive NWT showed the community access road had reopened as of noon. Fort Providence has moved down to an evacuation notice, the NWT government stated.
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While Fort Providence residents have praised the assistance they received from the Town of Hay River – where hundreds of people made use of a rapidly arranged evacuation centre in the local recreation centre – there has been criticism of the territorial response.
On Wednesday, Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya said the GNWT’s actions had been “inadequate.”
Yakeleya criticized firefighting efforts and the support provided to evacuees. She called on the NWT government to reimburse all hotel expenses incurred by evacuees.
“Northerners deserve better, and the fact that the government has yet to figure out how to take care of its residents during natural disasters is an embarrassment,” the MLA stated.
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Former NWT MP Michael McLeod, a Fort Providence resident, has also criticized the territorial response. Premier RJ Simpson and environment minister Jay Macdonald have defended the territory’s actions, particularly its approach to firefighting.
Fort Providence’s health centre will offer reduced services on Thursday and Friday, the NWT’s health authority said.
“Urgent care will be available, however regular appointments or non-urgent requests may be deferred,” the authority said in a statement.
“Effective Monday, September 15, the Community Health and Social Services Centre will return to full operations.”
The community Northern store will open to residents from 6-10pm on Thursday and return to regular hours on Friday.
A barbecue dinner is scheduled for 6pm at the friendship centre.
Hay River to decommission evac centre
For the Town of Hay River, becoming the impromptu home to hundreds of Fort Providence residents required a major effort.
At a council meeting this week, councillor Robert Bouchard said there had been “a lot of compliments” for Hay River’s hosting of the evacuees.
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“I think we’ve done a really good job,” he said. “The people of Fort Providence have been really good, too, and understanding.”
Hay River’s fire department sent crews to Fort Providence to fight fire SS014. Town staff told councillors this week that the nine-day deployment will allow the town to bill the NWT government $130,000, for an $80,000 profit to the municipality.
Hay River town manager Glenn Smith said the evacuation centre had more than 400 registrations on its first day, “quite a bit more than what we actually anticipated.”
Smith told councillors that “a big portion of the community, probably over 95 percent, came through our doors eventually … for accommodations, we maxed out at an estimate of about 174 people that were in the community centre on cots, spread out throughout the building.”
He said many others had chosen to camp while Kátł’odeeche First Nation hosted about 30 evacuees. Others stayed in hotels or with friends and family.
Hay River is expected to operate its evacuation centre until 4pm on Thursday as residents of Fort Providence make their way home. Clean-up work at the facility is expected to begin on Friday, Smith said, with regular programming returning next week.
Aastha Sethi contributed reporting.
