Evacuating Yellowknife: Residents share their stories of getting out ahead of the wildfire

CBC News | Posted: August 17, 2023 6:53 PM | Last Updated: August 18, 2023

People under stress as they face long drives to safety through smoke

Media | Shock and fear as N.W.T. woman packs to flee fires

Caption: Angela Canning, a Yellowknife resident who is getting ready to leave her home and her husband, who is an essential worker says she's scared. I feel panicked, she said. I feel like ... there wasnt enough time.

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The people of Yellowknife are leaving their homes amid an order to evacuate due to a dangerous wildfire expected to reach the outskirts of the territorial capital by the weekend.

The evacuation order was made on Wednesday night, giving people who hadn't already left the city the official signal that it was time to go.

Authorities have asked people to depart the city by noon, local time, on Friday.

CBC News has been speaking to people who have made the journey out.

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Their stories include long lines, near misses, a sense of disbelief and leaving loved ones behind who are staying to help.

A near-collision

Nadia Byrne was part of a group that was among the first to leave the city after the evacuation order was issued.

Her group, which included several vehicles, battled dwindling daylight and lots of smoke, and came close to having a collision.

"We had probably an hour of daylight when we were driving through Behchok," Byrne said Thursday. Behchok is about 110 kilometres from Yellowknife along the only highway out of the city.

Image | Yellowknife residents leave city on Highway 3, following evacuation order

Caption: Yellowknife residents leave the city on Wednesday along Highway 3, the only highway in or out of the community, after an evacuation order was given due to the proximity of a wildfire. (Pat Kane/Reuters)

Byrne and her fellow travellers stopped in Fort Providence, N.W.T. more than 200 kilometres on from Behchok where they discovered the gas station was closed.

"Because we drove in the dark, we also almost hit a bison," she said.

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The smoke worsened as her group later reached Kakisa and Alexandra Falls, Byrne said.

Members of her group wore N95 masks they had brought with them. Their drive was slow, with traffic "crawling" along at low speeds.

'Trying to be cautious'

Adria McPherson left the city on Wednesday with her husband, her dog and her two cats.

The couple packed some necessities, some sentimental items, as well as some camping gear, which they used overnight.

WATCH | Why some left Yellowknife early:

Media Video | Yellowknife fire evacuees explain why they left early

Caption: Ariel Stuart and Nadia Byrne, who left Yellowknife earlier this week, explain why they decided to go when they did and what it was like driving through the dark, smoky night.

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"We knew we'd need to stop along the way," McPherson told CBC News from Valleyview, Alta., while heading to Calgary. "It's a very long drive that everyone leaving Yellowknife is facing not one that we normally do in one day."

The drive wasn't as bad as she expected despite some flames being visible from the highway.

"I was trying to be cautious, but I definitely did have a sense of unease," said McPherson, who moved to Yellowknife in 2020.

Marie-Eve LaRocque left Yellowknife early Wednesday evening and nearly 24 hours later, she was still on the road.

"It's kind of uncertain not knowing what's going to happen next," said LaRocque, who spoke to CBC News Network from Whitecourt, Alta., late Thursday.

The journey was a bit of a blur for LaRocque, who said her anxiety and stress "went through the roof" when the evacuation order came down even though rumours had prompted her to start preparing for the moment.

Smoky conditions, flames in view

Yervand Hovhannisyan had his bags packed before the evacuation order came. He left town after finishing work on Wednesday.

"Coming out of Yellowknife, there was a big lineup just to get piloted through the smoke," Hovhannisyan said Thursday while in High Level, Alta.

Embed | Estimated fire perimeters

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He said there was an hour-long wait to be piloted through that stretch of road when leaving Yellowknife. Then came a nearly 90-minute drive to Behchok.

"Once we left there, it was already totally dark," said Hovhannisyan, who saw flames along the way during the drive.

'Beyond stressed out'

The stress was also mounting for those still preparing to exit Yellowknife.

Mia-Jean Scalzo had been anticipating that an evacuation order was coming in Yellowknife.

"I am just hoping that we can make it to the other side and make it to our family friend's house safe," Scalzo said Thursday, ahead of her planned departure from the city.

WATCH | The long road out of Yellowknife:

Media Video | About That : Yellowknife wildfire evacuation: A race against time | About That

Caption: People in Yellowknife have been ordered to evacuate in the next 24 hours as wildfires approach. Andrew Chang explains what's complicating the effort to help 22,000 people escape as flames close in.

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Scalzo said her parents had moved to Yellowknife two years ago from Ontario. She has only lived in the Northwest Territories for about six months herself.

For her, an order to flee her home is something new and upsetting.

"We are beyond stressed out and scared," said Scalzo, who is the mother of an 11-month-old baby.

Waiting for a flight

Marg Hudder was among hundreds of residents who lined up to register for an evacuation flight out of Yellowknife.

Photogallery | IN PHOTOS | Yellowknife evacuations underway as wildfires spread

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She said the evacuation efforts appeared to be well organized.

"We're grateful," said Hudder, who's lived in Yellowknife for 35 years.

Evacuation flights scheduled to leave Yellowknife on Thursday were nearing capacity during the afternoon. A flight schedule was being developed for Friday and Saturday, according to a spokesperson for the territorial government.

At the Edmonton International Airport, Madison Walls, an evacuee from Yellowknife, said she was relieved to be out of danger.

"It happened really fast," she told reporters on Thursday. "The whole summer, it's been really smoky, but I don't think I really ever thought that it was going to become an evacuation until Monday of this week. Things just started to get worse much faster."

Heading out alone

Angela Canning fought back tears as she discussed the stress of the situation.

"It's smoky, I am home alone, my husband is at work and I'm [going to be] travelling alone," she said Thursday.

Embed | Evacuee reception centres

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Her husband works at the airport and must stay to help with the evacuation.

"I am incredibly proud of my husband," she said. "I'm scared. I don't know where he's going to be sleeping. I don't know if he's going to be fed. I just hope that I can call him every day."

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Canning must now leave the home where she has lived since 2010.

"I wish there was more time," said Canning, who thought authorities should have enacted the evacuation earlier.

Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty told CBC's Power & Politics Thursday that the drive out was going to be crowded no matter when the evacuation call was made.

"We've only have one highway, it's a one-lane highway you're naturally going to be bumper-to-bumper with folks," Alty said.

'It is happening'

Nnamdi Vincent and his friends got out Yellowknife before officials said people had to leave.

They headed out Wednesday afternoon and landed in High Level, Alta., around midnight.

Vincent is still coming to grips with the reality that he and others from Yellowknife are facing.

"I still haven't taken in that it's happening, right? But it is happening," said Vincent, who planned to stay with friends in Edmonton.

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At a Yellowknife gas station, Jean Caisse was gathering fuel for his family members to use, so they could leave the city.

He'll be staying behind, however, to help out with needed evacuation operations.

"I'll go to work tomorrow like any other day," said Caisse, who hoped people leaving town could make that journey safely.

The territorial government has provided the following information for residents:

N.W.T. residents who need to evacuate can register here.
Territorial wildfire updates can be found here. Report smoke or fire by calling 1-877-698-3473.
Emergency response resources can be found here.
The latest community statuses, including notices, alerts and orders, can be found here.
Additional information for evacuees can be found here.