Wrigley under evacuation order over nearby wildfire

Wrigley has become the second Dehcho community under an evacuation order because of a nearby wildfire, joining Fort Simpson.

“Wrigley residents are required to evacuate the area immediately due to a wildfire,” an alert issued at 10:50am on Monday stated.

“Evacuees must register at the band office and will get further instruction from there.”

Reached by phone, the band office in Wrigley told Cabin Radio evacuees are being told to head to Fort Smith. Fort Smith’s senior administrator confirmed the town is preparing to accommodate Wrigley residents.

The NWT’s Department of Municipal and Community Affairs said Fort Smith had been chosen because it is able to accommodate evacuees from a community the size of Wrigley, which has about 135 residents.

“If there were to be more evacuations, we might need the larger capacity that Hay River offers,” a spokesperson stated, explaining how Fort Smith had been chosen.

Whether residents are expected to get to Fort Smith by road, air or both remained unclear as of 11:30am.

While fire FS015 to the north has been the most visible in recent days, there are multiple wildfires burning in the vicinity of Wrigley.

Aside from its airstrip, the only way out of Wrigley – the terminus of Highway 1 – is to drive east along a road that requires passing by Fort Simpson, itself under an evacuation order because of a wildfire that has burned closer to the highway.

The road either side of Fort Simpson is also imperilled by active fires, many of which sprang up in recent days as lightning moved over the Dehcho region. Crews worked late into Sunday to keep Highway 1 open for Fort Simpson evacuees as fire FS014 threatened the road near the Checkpoint intersection.

Highway 7, south from Checkpoint toward Fort Liard and BC, remains closed because of other fires as of 11:20am on Monday.

Fire FS015 was burning 12 km north of Wrigley as of Sunday evening. At that time, winds were pushing it away from the community.

More follows.