NWT Fire advised weather conditions forecasted today could potentially expand fire FS014 towards Jean Marie River First Nation. Wildland teams advised it will depend on the direction of winds, whether the blaze could reach Hwy 1, but as of a 3:15 p.m. update, the fire had reached within 100 meters of the highway.
Jean Marie River First Nation officials issued an update that “the fire has not made substantial growth towards the community, as of 2 pm today. NWT Fire issued a fire update bulletin that as of 3:15 p.m. the wildfire remained at a distance of 15 km from the community. The fire had not expanded to Fort Simpson, remaining 13 km south, 15 km east of Fort Simpson, said crews.
Today a shift to drier conditions with winds gusting up to 40 km per hour is forecasted which could cause fire to expand towards the community.
Crews forecast the wind direction to switch west by afternoon, and northwest by evening “with winds gradually picking up from 10km/h sustained, to 15km/h sustained with gusts between 25 and 40km/h.”
“This would not be expected to put pressure on fire growth towards Highway 1, but may cause growth to the south at the south flanks of the fire, closest to Jean Marie River,” said Wildland teams.
Currently, the community remains on an Evacuation Alert.
Officials advised community members to check the community Facebook Page, to listen to the radio station 101.9 and to check community information boards for updates.
Community officials are also advising to keep a tank full of fuel and have any important belongings prepared and packed to go.
Updates are also available on GNWT’s Alert pages webpage and the GNWT Fire Map.
This afternoon, officials said the wildfire is currently not considered a threat to Fort Simpson or the Fort Simpson airport.
On the other side of the blaze’s front, crews warn that the fire remains within about 100 to 200 metres of Hwy 1 at km 454 as of 3:15 p.m, said NWT Fire.
Wildland teams advised today that an ignition operation is planned for this afternoon in the area of KM 450 to the Ferry Landing. If the operation goes ahead, it is likely that the highway will be closed.
NWT Fire says it will depend on the direction of winds, whether FS014 could reach Hwy 1. Wildland teams and GNWT’s department of Infrastructure are advising travellers to be cautious in the areas of Hwy 1 at Hwy 3, due to smoke and wildfires in the area
Crews are advising travellers to drive cautiously and to keep an eye on updates at DiveNWT.ca
Due to smoke from wildfires, Environment Canada has issued air quality advisories for the Fort Liard region including Nahanni Butte and Sambaa K’e, the Fort Providence region including Kakisa and Chan Lake, North Slave region including Whati, Wekweeti and Behchokǫ̀
