18 families from Kátł'odeeche First Nation lost homes to wildfire still raging nearby

Eighteen families from the Kátł'odeeche First Nation reserve have lost their homes, and the band office has been destroyed, Chief April Martel said on Friday.

Martel was given the chance to fly over the First Nation this week. She spoke to CBC North's Trail's End Friday, after delivering news about what she saw to community members on Thursday. Martel said some of the homes are still standing, but their exteriors have been so badly damaged that they will have to be replaced altogether. 

"The situation was very emotional, but we did give them hope that we are going to rebuild them new homes," said Martel.

Along with the homes, five major buildings on the reserve have been damaged, including the band office and the Judith Fabian Group Home, said Martel. 

"We have heavy smoke damage to some of the buildings, so we're not sure if they're going to condemn them or not," she said. 

Martel couldn't say exactly how many buildings will be boarded up in the end.

It's been five days since people in Kátł'odeeche First Nation and Hay River, N.W.T., were told to leave their homes as an out-of-control wildfire erupted on their doorsteps.    

The fire had grown to around 2,900 hectares as of Friday afternoon, but had not jumped the river to the town of Hay River. 

Highway 5, which heads east of Hay River toward Fort Smith and Wood Buffalo National Park, was still open as of late Friday afternoon, but visibility was poor due to smoke. 

Martel and her team are camped near the reserve, monitoring the situation. 

She said power poles and trees in the community are burning and falling down, and there are power lines, water lines, fallen trees, water and debris all over the place.

People from Hay River may be able to return home in a week and a half, said Martel, but it could be much longer — weeks, and perhaps up to a couple months — for people from Kátł'odeeche First Nation (KFN).

She said KFN is trying to get a 100-person camp set up so that people have somewhere to stay near the reserve, "because we're going to need them to come home, because we're going to need them to come and work and clean up."

The cleanup will be complicated. Martel said specialists will need to come in to take out items like fridges and freezers, and that takes time. Plus, the fire could re-ignite, she said.

Martel said she talked to elected officials, including N.W.T. MP Michael McLeod and the federal minister of Indigenous Services, Patty Hajdu, about resources the community needs, and they were willing to help. 

Search continues for missing Kátł'odeeche First Nation man 

Meanwhile, the search continues for a missing man from Kátł'odeeche First Nation. 

Kelly Daniel Minoza was last seen in Hay River around 4 p.m., just as the community was being evacuated.

Martel said RCMP told her this morning that Minoza's quad, which had been parked beside the West Channel Bridge in Hay River, was no longer in that spot.

"Somebody took off with that quad and they're driving around," she said. "They think it's Kelly because he's the only one that had keys for that quad."

Police are searching for Minoza on the ground because the helicopters are being used in the wildfire effort, she said.

"We're just really focused on … the fire … and then trying to find Kelly right now," said Martel.