The City of Yellowknife and a nearby First Nation announced on Friday that residents may be able to return home as soon as September 6, pending any increase in wildfire activity. The Northwest Territories capital and members of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation will be allowed to return starting at noon on that day. However, the city and First Nation emphasized that residents should be prepared for a reduction in services and limited availability of businesses.
Shane Thompson, the territory’s minister of municipal and community affairs, stated that while the government looks forward to welcoming residents back, people are asked to stay where they are until the evacuation order is lifted on Wednesday. Thompson emphasized that re-entry will be safer and more organized if residents wait until the designated date and avoid traveling toward the N.W.T.-Alberta border where no supports are available.
While the lifting of the evacuation order is good news for Yellowknifers and residents of Dettah and Ndilo, other communities such as Hay River, Fort Smith, Kakisa, K’atlodeeche First Nation, and Enterprise remain displaced. The government is actively fighting the fires in these areas to ensure the safety of the residents before they can return home.
The re-entry plan is currently in its final phase, with essential personnel for critical services returning. The return of some essential workers was delayed due to an increased fire risk along Highway 1, but most are expected to be back by Monday and Tuesday to help re-establish basic services.
The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority issued a public notice advising Yellowknife residents to expect limited services upon re-entry. Almost all health services in Yellowknife are suspended except for basic emergency department care. The restart will focus initially on life-sustaining services, and some services will be available at the Stanton Territorial Hospital upon the end of the evacuation order. However, intensive care will not be available initially, and critically ill patients may require a medevac out of the territory.
Obstetric services will also be limited in the first one to two weeks, and pregnant women who are 33 weeks or further along will be contacted directly about their care. Chemotherapy, dialysis, and IV therapy patients are advised to stay where they are to receive those services, and those in need of urgent surgery and pediatric patients may require medevac for treatment.
The evacuation order for Yellowknife and the nearby First Nation communities of Ndilo and Dettah was issued on August 16. Approximately 70% of the territory’s population has been out of their homes for two weeks, with residents near the Alberta boundary experiencing an even longer displacement period.