Fort Simpson reopens to residents as evacuation order is lifted

The Village of Fort Simpson lifted its evacuation order early on Saturday after nearly three weeks. Residents are now able to come home.

At 8am, the order was downgraded to an evacuation alert. An announcement that the evacuation would end was made the previous evening.

Registration for flights back to Fort Simpson was taking place at Yellowknife’s multiplex on Saturday morning.

Fort Simpson, population about 1,300, had been under an evacuation order since the end of June because of wildfire FS016, which reached southern edges of the community and destroyed at least one home and a cabin.

The village said the “reduced level of risk to the community” allowed the order to be downgraded.

From 8am on Saturday, “movement in and out of the community will no longer be restricted and residents are free to return at their own risk,” the village stated.

Residents were warned to expect smoky conditions “for an extended period,” firefighters and heavy equipment still operating, and the possibility that evacuation measures “could be reinstated if conditions deteriorate.”

Be self-sufficient for 72 hours on your return, the village told residents.

The NWT Power Corporation said there had been multiple outages during the evacuation, with certain homes losing power from 30 hours to more than 13 days.

If you return to no power, check the breakers in the building, the powr corporation said. If power is still out, report the outage by calling 1-855-575-6872.

Multiplex not yet open to public

In Yellowknife, City Hall said the reception centre set up for evacuees at the multiplex will close at 7pm on Saturday. Many residents of Fort Simpson had stayed there on cots throughout the 20-day evacuation.

The multiplex will remain temporarily closed, the city said, while staff restore it for public use.

“This work includes removing temporary infrastructure, completing cleaning and maintenance activities, and preparing the facility to safely welcome back residents, user groups, and visitors,” the city stated.

A reopening date has not yet been confirmed.

“The City thanks residents for their patience and understanding during this transition and looks forward to welcoming the community back to the Yellowknife Multiplex once the facility has been restored,” the city added.

Flights arranged

Registration for return flights opened at 8am on Saturday at the multiplex. Details are available on the village’s website.

The final bus to the airport was due to depart from the multiplex at 12:45pm on Saturday. Flights were scheduled to leave at 12pm and 2:45pm.

“Passengers who do not register in advance will not be permitted to board the aircraft,” the village said.

Buses were expected to bring passengers from Fort Simpson’s airport to its recreation centre.

‘Still a fire out there’

The decision to allow residents home came as NWT Fire warned that “highly flammable conditions where fires can start easily and spread with intensity” were still possible in the region on Saturday.

Known as crossover conditions, the weekend’s weather is set to combine temperatures above 30C with lower relative humidity.

Even so, the wildfire agency said crews were mopping up the east flank of the fire and there was a “significant reduction” in heat from the fire’s perimeter.

“This improvement is attributed to the continued efforts of crews conducting patrols and direct attack operations to locate and extinguish remaining heat and ensure no hotspots are left within the area,” NWT Fire stated.

Patrols through neighbourhoods for any resurgence of fire activity continue.

“There’s still a fire out there and they’re actioning it,” Mayor Les Wright told Cabin Radio.

“There will be changes to the landscape, right? There’s trees missing, we did do some clearing there to make it safe for trees falling onto the roads and stuff,” Wright said as the evacuation order’s lifting was announced.

Wright said the Northern store, the village’s main source of groceries, will be up and running but he reiterated that people should bring supplies for a couple of days.

“We had to wait till it was safe,” he said. “And it’s safe now.”