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There was no overnight change to Fort Simpson’s evacuation alert status. On Saturday morning, the advice remained that residents should be prepared to leave because of a nearby wildfire.
Fire FS016, about nine kilometres south of the community and a similar distance west of its airport, grew quickly on Friday evening after being triggered by a lightning storm.
The sequence of events was striking to some residents, who experienced a large dump of rain from the storm before being told they were on evacuation alert. The village is in an area considered “abnormally dry” in drought terms.
After Friday evening’s race to suppress the fire with crews, air tankers and helicopters, there was no change early on Saturday.
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NWT Fire said late on Friday that crews “will continue suppression efforts until the fire is brought under control.”
The Village of Fort Simpson’s latest advice, on Facebook, instructs residents to pre-register for a possible evacuation using this GNWT form.
Organizers of a Run for Reading literacy and recreation event due to take place in the village on Saturday said they had postponed it. Organizers of a planned hide camp said they would assess conditions on Saturday before providing an update.
A hot weekend is forecast in Fort Simpson, though Environment Canada’s forecast changed slightly overnight.
Federal forecasters now expect weekend highs of 32C – a little cooler than previously predicted, if still very warm – with the prospect of isolated showers on both days.
Further thunderstorms aren’t out of the question, with forecasters assessing a minor risk of more unsettled weather in the region on Saturday.
