The City of Yellowknife has officially declared a State of Emergency due to the surrounding wildfires.
In an emergency meeting that took place on the evening of Monday, August 14, Mayor Rebecca Alty and the Yellowknife City council voted unanimously to put the city into a state of local emergency, pursuant to Section 28 of the Cities, Towns, and Villages Act of the Northwest Territories.
A State of Local Emergency is called when a community government determines additional powers are needed to take immediate action in an emergency. This includes taking over the use of vehicles or property to respond to the emergency, causing an evacuation for all or a portion of the community, authorizing qualified individuals to provide services or aid in emergency responses.
City Manager, Sheila Bassi-Kellet, explained that the city had been in close communication with the Environment and Climate Change office, and that they had been keeping an eye on whether or not the fire would cross Boundary Creek, which it did.
“That is something we take quite seriously. We do think in terms of, when looking at the fire risk, we want to make sure in recommending the council declare a state of local emergency, that it’s done to enable us to bring in other resources that may have otherwise been occupied.”
She added that the city is looking to mobilize every piece of heavy equipment that they can find in order to construct fire breaks that will keep the city safe.
Mayor Alty reminded those in attendance of the gravity of the situation, but urges the city to stay calm.
“This situation is serious, and we’ve been taking it very seriously. We’ve been working closely with the territorial, federal, and private sector to put in the fire breaks. We meet daily, or sometimes multiple times a day, or evenings, or weekends, or any time that’s required to review the situation and make any adjustments to our plan if need be. The declaration of a state of local emergency is NOT an evacuation alert. It’s NOT an evacuation order. What it is, is it’s about mobilizing all resources to reduce the risk of forest fires.”
Mayor Alty also later clarified that the city is not under an evacuation notice.
The State of Emergency is set to remain in place for at least seven days, and will be lifted on August 21st. It may be lifted earlier if conditions improve.
