Still approximately 15 kilometres away from the municipal boundary of Yellowknife, NWT Fire officials believe it to be unlikely the fire will reach the city this weekend, thanks to slightly cooler-than-forecast conditions, help from rain, and successful firefighting efforts.
However, despite the good news it’s not going to be clear sailing ahead, as windy conditions forecasted in the area for the next day or two, and an overall lack of rain. A total of 4 millimetres of rain fell nearest to Yellowknife, with just 2mm falling near the fire near Ingraham Trail, and less than 1mm nearest to the Dettah fire.
Fire officials say a little bit of rain does not mean it is safe to come back to Yellowknife, N’Dilo, Dettah, as the threat to the area remains, and believe only a significant rainfall could make a major impact against the fires.
On Saturday, fire crews, along with helicopters and air tankers will hit targets to slow the growth of this fire, and will continue building more than 10 kilometres of control line to the west of Yellowknife; with structure protection teams working on Highway 3 to prevent losses as possible – moving closer to Yellowknife day-by-day.
