Yellowknife 'still under a threat' despite rains in area, mayor says

Officials say the fire burning near Yellowknife is now "highly unlikely" to reach the outskirts of the city until at least Wednesday,while the city's mayor is repeating calls for the few who remainto evacuate and for those who have left not to return.

"If you have a vehicle, please drive out," or plan to book a flight, Mayor Rebecca Alty said Monday."Today, the fire is still a threat and we don't have a date for when folks can come back."

Over the weekend, the fire was expected to move four to five kilometres toward Yellowknife. It's currently about 15 kilometres away from city limits.

Mike Westwick, fire information officer for the N.W.T. government, said the fire moved between 100 and 200 metres closer to the city, but lighter winds than expected and successful firefighting efforts have kept the fire at bay.

Significant rain also dampened the blaze that has forced the evacuation of about 20,000 residents in Yellowknife, Ndil and Dettah, with about 4.7 millimeters falling on the fire itself and 10 millimetres fallingin the city.

"It's almost a frustrating amount of rain, because you'd want more to keep the situation at bay in the long term," Westwick told Trailbreaker host Hilary BirdMonday morning.

Alty said the amount of preparation that's gone into establishing the"really strong" firebreakaround the city has been effective, but risks remain despite recent rains.

"Yellowknife is still under a threat," Alty said. "Yes, we had some rain and every little bit counts just because it rains in Yellowknife doesn't mean that it necessarily has impacted the fire."

WATCH | Yellowknife 'still under a threat' despite rains, mayor says:

Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty gives the latest wildfire update

1 year ago

Duration 7:31

Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty provides the latest wildfire information on Monday, Aug. 21st. Warm, dry winds are increasing the wildfire risk as crews work to halt the growth of the fire.

Still, that rain "has opened new opportunities for managing this fire," reads the latest update from N.W.T. Fire.

While winds were expected to push the fire back onto itself on Monday, Westwick said hot, dry temperatures were expected to return for the rest of the week renewing the risk to the city.

"Even as fire activity has been dampened by rain, there remains threat to the capital region due to the deep-burning fire which exists along a huge section of line and is currently being held down by weather conditions," reads the update.

Westwick explained that crews have been scanning the fire with infrared equipment to determine hot spots and there's still about 40 kilometres of "hot line."

With current conditions, crews will be able to attack the fire directly in the coming days. They also continue to build more than 10 kilometres of control lines to the west of the city and are considering controlled burns to further prevent any fire growth.

The fire's burn area was last mapped at about 167,000 hectares.

Four fires threatening capital area

Four separate fires are threatening the Yellowknife area. The largest is between Behchok and Yellowknife, along Highway 3.

A second has been burning north of the Ingraham Trail. While the latest update from N.W.T. Fire states that this fire is unlikely to reach the Ingraham Trail in the next three days, it is currently the "most active" of the four.

"Infrared scanning indicated significant hot areas along the southern perimeter of the fire," it reads.

So far, this fire has burned three structures and was last mapped at 50,200 hectares.

A third fire has moved to 29 kilometres southeast of Dettah.

The update from N.W.T. Fire stated that controlled burns in the area were "delayed for the time being."

The agency said crews have prepared a control line from Great Slave Lake to Jennejohn Lake and are now "ready to execute when the right opportunity presents to head off the northward and westward growth toward the Ingraham Trail and Dettah should this become necessary."

This fire's burn area was last mapped at 49,500 hectares.

Finally, the fourth fire is 43 kilometres north of Yellowknife and nine kilometres west of Duncan lake.

This is the smallest of the four and was last mapped at 17,300 hectares. For now crews are monitoring the burn without any active firefighting efforts.

'Not safe to return'

Alty said late last week about 1,600 people remained in Yellowknife, though several caught flights out over the weekend.

Apart from the roughly 1,000 essential workers still there, she urged anyone still in the city to make plans to get out.

Those who don't have a way of driving out canhead to Sir John Franklin High School any time between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. to register for a flight, Alty said Monday.

She said there are limited resources on the ground including access tohealth care services in the event of an emergency for those still in Yellowknife.

"Please stay safe," she said. "It's not safe to return and we'll be sure to communicate once it is."