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Flights carrying evacuees from Fort Simpson touched down in Yellowknife in the early hours of Monday, while some are starting to arrive in the NWT’s capital after an overnight drive.
The Dehcho village of 1,300 people has been under an evacuation order since Sunday evening over fears wildfire FS016, about seven kilometres from Fort Simpson’s airport, could be blown toward the community by changing winds on Monday.
Initial reports suggested the evacuation had proceeded about as smoothly as could be hoped, though lines for the Liard River ferry were long. The ferry, which can ordinarily move about 60 vehicles an hour and was a known bottleneck for any evacuation, had been set up to run through the night, moving people off the island to safety.
Boeing 737 jets arrived from Alberta late on Sunday, joining Air Tindi in ferrying evacuees to Yellowknife.
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“The last evacuation flight has now departed Fort Simpson. It has been a long and emotional day, and I am grateful that so many people were able to get out safely,” Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation Chief Kele Antoine wrote at 1:45am.
“Tonight, there is a small reason for hope. The skies have begun to clear, and the winds have once again gently pushed the smoke plume away from our community. We continue to pray that these conditions hold and that our firefighting crews can build on today’s hard work.
“There may still be a need for additional evacuation flights in the coming days. If those resources are needed, I will continue to advocate for them to ensure everyone who needs assistance can get to safety.”
The Village of Fort Simpson warned people who chose to remain that there is “no guarantee” any stores will remain open.
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“All provisions will be for emergency services personnel,” the village stated. “Power services may be disrupted. Trucked water and pump-out services will not be available. If you remain in town there will be no support.”
Fort Simpson’s health centre has moved to emergency on-call services only, the NWT’s health authority said, saying that would be similar to the service offered on weekends and holidays.
At Yellowknife’s multiplex, the reception centre for evacuees, registration began overnight. Evacuees receive a neon green wristband that provides access to cots, meals and showers.
Early Monday, Fort Simpson remained under a heat warning. Environment Canada forecasts a daily high of 28C with a chance of showers or storms from 12pm onward.
The focus will be on the wind. Forecasters expect the wind direction to shift from the southeast (blowing the fire northwest, parallel to Fort Simpson) to a westerly wind on Monday evening, which could move FS016 closer to the village.
On Sunday, the prospect of a wind shift – plus the complex nature of evacuating Fort Simpson by vehicle, ferry and air – was given as the reason for the evacuation order.
An NWT Fire update is expected on Monday morning.
Get in touch
If you’re an evacuee or are still in Fort Simpson, we’d like to hear from you. You can use this form to contact our reporting team.
