Fort Simpson will lift evacuation order on Saturday morning

The Village of Fort Simpson is lifting its evacuation order after nearly three weeks. Residents will be able to come home on Saturday.

Nobody can return until 8am on Saturday, at which point the order will be downgraded to an evacuation alert.

Registration for flights back to Fort Simpson will take 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” had 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.

“Do not attempt to return tonight, as you will not be allowed onto the ferry. Although the immediate threat to the community will have been reduced, wildfire activity may continue in the surrounding area.”

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.

Flight registration

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

The final bus to the airport departs from the multiplex at 12:45pm on Saturday. Flights will 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 will bring passengers from Fort Simpson’s airport to its recreation centre.

Difficult conditions ahead

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.”