All N.W.T. highways open to traffic
Rainfall in southern N.W.T. a welcome respite from dry summer
N.W.T. Highway 5 reopened Thursday morning, meaning for the first time in a week all N.W.T. highways were open to traffic.
The Department of Transportation is asking drivers to follow posted speed limits and to stay a safe distance from the vehicle ahead.
Aside from one daily convoy in each direction, Highway 5 to Fort Smith had been closed for three days due to a large fire in Wood Buffalo National Park.
On Wednesday, the area got 75 millimetres of rain. Acting mayor Don Webb says, with the road open, people are able to travel and a fresh supply of food is coming in.
Yellowknife got just 2.2 millimetres of rain on Wednesday, but a change in wind direction helped clear heavy smoke that had been hanging over the city for days. Highway 3 between Behchoko and Fort Providence reopened Wednesday morning after being closed for four days due to fire and smoke.
In Trout Lake people were also being exposed to heavy smoke from fires burning close to Jean Marie River. But Jessica Jumbo at the Dehcho First Nations office says that smoke appears to have dissipated.