A wildfire that had Fort Smith residents on evacuation alert is under control and no longer poses a threat to the community.
That’s according to the Government of the Northwest Territories, which issued an update on the situation Sunday.
On Friday afternoon, a wildfire was discovered roughly five kilometers southeast of Fort Smith on the Alberta side of the border.
Read: Fire ban in effect for Yellowknife
At the time, officials said the fire posed no immediate threat to the community but that residents should be prepared to evacuate in the event of an emergency.
By 3pm Friday, the fire was being held after crews from the NWT and Alberta responded using a combination of water and fire retardant.
The fire was deemed under control by Sunday night.
“Alberta has confirmed the fire is now under control,” NWT Fire posted to its Facebook page in the evening. “It no longer poses a threat to Fort Smith or surrounding communities.”
As of Saturday, 55 fires had been reported in the NWT since the beginning of wildfire season, burning almost 23,000 hectares of land.
Fire danger is listed as high to extreme throughout much of the Northwest Territories. A fire ban remains in effect for residents living in Yellowknife.
