Photo from Tłı̨chǫ Goverment website.
News
1 min.read

Winter Road from Fort Smith to Fort Chipewyan Temporarily CLOSED

Connor Pitre
By Connor Pitre

Travel on the Wood Buffalo National Park winter road is CLOSED to the public until further notice due to overflow on river crossings.

Since early January, water levels have been steadily decreasing on the Peace, Rochers and Quatre Fourches Rivers. Overflow occurs when the ice drops down onto the water, causing water to seep to the surface of the ice. Parks Canada crews are currently assessing the condition of the road and ice bridges and working to make repairs as necessary. Please continue to check back for further updates regarding a re-opening date.

For those travelling through the park via over-snow vehicles, extra caution should be taken when travelling near riverbanks due to the dangers posed by hanging ice. Hanging ice occurs when water levels drop, leaving large pieces of ice that are connected to the shoreline but unsupported by anything underneath. Hanging ice can collapse or shift naturally, leaving some areas impassible, but is also at further risk of collapse when additional weight from vehicles is applied.

Due to a lack of cell service and winter conditions, it is important to be prepared when travelling through Wood Buffalo National Park. Make a trip plan, tell people where you’re going and carry emergency supplies.

UPDATE: The winter road through Wood Buffalo National Park has re-opened, with a 10,000kg weight limit. It is strongly advised that only 4×4 or AWD vehicles use the winter road at this time, as crossings remain very steep.

Colder temperatures overnight helped the overflow issue at the Peace River crossing, and crews were able to flood/freeze the crossing again to make it passable. There is more than a metre of ice on the river, and crews will continue to monitor and repair crossings as needed.
Connor Pitre
Connor Pitre
Born and raised in Central Alberta, Connor Pitre attended the Western Academy Broadcasting College in Saskatchewan, before making his way to the NWT in November of 2021. Since then, he has become a regular staple of the True North FM crew in the News department, and occasionally filling in on the afternoon show.

Continue Reading

You may also like



cjcd Now playing play

- Advertisement -

Related Articles

- Advertisement -

Latest News

Hundreds of crew make progress on Decho fires relieved by rain

Fire
Hundreds of crew members co-ordinated aggressive responses to fires in the Dehcho region and along Hwy 1. On Wednesday cooler temperatures and rainfall reinforced long awaited progress by Wildland firefighters.

Shauit’s latest music project joins diverse richness of Indigenous north and south at FOTR

Folk On The Rocks
Shauit says his latest work blends Northern Indigenous and southern Indigenous Latin and African music. The artist is bringing ground-breaking fusions created in collaboration with musicians from Turtle Island’s North, Quebec, Mexico and France to Folk On The Rocks in Yellowknife. “To go to more places that Innu music didn't go before. To show my nation, to show young artists that they can do whatever they want,” explains the artist, who is originally from Maliotenam.

Hay River on roll to another ParticipACTION win

Northwest Territories
The town of Hay River has once again been named a finalist in the 2026 Community Challenge.Just last year, Hay River not only picked up the title of the most active community in N.W.T. but also nabbed $15,000 in prize funding support for local physical activity and sport initiatives. And in 2024, Hay River won the top prize in the national challenge, picking up $100,000 in prize funding.

Crews fighting fires in Dehcho amid extreme conditions and poor visibility

Fire
In the Dehcho region, Wildland crews reported that while some areas remain problematic, direct attack methods on FS016, south of Liidlii Kue and Fort Simpson were effective on Tuesday. In Wrigley, response efforts were overwhelmed by conditions and poor visibility.  In the South Slave region, a wildfire located about 20 km from Hay River has been 90 per cent contained following nearly two weeks of active response.

Intersections across city to see signal and hardware makeovers in next 3 weeks

City of Yellowknife
A series of traffic signal maintenance and hardware upgrades are set to begin Thursday at intersections throughout the city of Yellowknife. The work is scheduled to continue until July 31. City staff said during the three week period, temporary traffic signal interruptions can be anticipated.