Responders had to ‘flee’ N.W.T. wildfire, extent of damage in community unclear

Highway 3 has closed again between kilometres 238 and 334 due to a wildfire that burned down homes in Behchokǫ, N.W.T.

A wildfire’s “extraordinary” growth toward the community on Tuesday meant responders could no longer attack the fire safely. 

“All responders had to flee,” said Mike Westwick, fire information officer with the territorial government, Wednesday morning. “We did have to move our base of operations. That is the kind of situation that we’re facing down right now today.”

N.W.T. Fire issued an update Wednesday morning confirming the fire burned down three houses in Rae. 

Behchokǫ̀ is made up of two communities: Rae and Edzo. Rae is connected to Highway 3 via a 10-kilometre access road, while Edzo is southwest of Rae along the highway. 

N.W.T. Fire says there are spot fires in Rae and crews started patrolling to put them out at 5:30 a.m. 

“Edzo has not been compromised at this time,” reads the update. “We need to prepare for the reality that this may happen today.” 

N.W.T. Fire also confirmed that neither the power station near Stagg River nor the fibre optic line along Highway 3 were compromised, though the fibre line is still at risk.

More strong winds — 20 to 30 kilometres an hour, and gusting up to 45 — are expected to continue to push the fire west Wednesday.

“It will be another extremely challenging day,” reads the update.

‘Never something we want to do’

On Tuesday night, N.W.T. Fire announced that it was scaling back firefighting operations due to safety concerns. 

At the time, the fire had reached within five kilometres east of Edzo and seven kilometres southeast of Rae. The fire was expected to reach the communities overnight. 

He said calling back firefighters is “never something that we want to do, but our first job is to make sure that folks come home safe at the end of the day.” 

He added that crews would reassess Wednesday how best to attack the fire. 

“I fully understand that all this uncertainty is not particularly satisfying to the folks watching this happen away from home,” he said. 

Evacuation stretches into the night

Joyce Quitte was among a group of people who arrived in Yellowknife by plane from Behchokǫ̀ Tuesday night around 10:30 p.m.

“We got on a plane and we flew out from Edzo. We saw the fire on the highway,” she said. 

She told CBC some people are still in the community. 

“I hope they’re OK. I hope they’re safe. We just pray for them and home they come here this way … to be safe. That’s the first time I had a fire close to … Behchokǫ̀, so right now it’s a little scary.”

Quitte managed to bring her cat with her, but says she’s worried about dogs left behind.

Roger Flunkie fled with a handful of belongings. He said he’s communicating with a friend who stayed behind in Behchokǫ̀. Flunkie said he was told Wednesday only three houses have burnt down, and that his brother’s house is still standing.

“Who ever thought we were gonna go through this?” he said.

“There’s a lot of support from everybody,” he said. “All they need is prayers. Everybody’s prayers, to keep our community safe.” 

Tłı̨chǫ Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty urged Behchokǫ̀ residents to evacuate from their homes overnight as a wildfire encroached on the community. 

Lafferty posted a video to social media shortly after 1 a.m. on Wednesday from the Edzo airport. 

“The fire is getting worst in Behchokǫ̀,” he said. “Our lives are at stake here. It’s life and death. We need to get out ASAP. Now.” 

At the time, he said there were two planes waiting to evacuate residents. 

“Going around Edzo, there’s still some people. This is an emergency state, we should have everyone on a plane.” 

It’s not clear how many of Behchokǫ’s 2,000 residents have left. 

Residents posted to social media throughout the night. 

One video shows sirens blaring in Behchokǫ̀.

In another post, one resident said they heard gas tanks exploding. 

Many others shared encouraging words for Behchokǫ̀ residents. 

Highway 3 closes, reopens, closes again

The entirety of Highway 3 — from Fort Providence to Yellowknife — closed overnight due to wildfires.

Wednesday morning, the Department of Infrastructure said the highway reopened about 7 a.m., including the portion between Behchokǫ and Yellowknife. 

The fire’s burn area was last mapped at more than 63,000 hectares, but that was prior to its significant growth on Tuesday.