'A very friendly town': Enterprise, pop. 100, opens up to N.W.T. fire evacuees

It's been five days since an out of control fire forced thousands of Hay River N.W.T. and K'atl'odeeche First Nation (KFN) residents from their homes.

But down the highway, just under 40 kilometres away, there's a small community with a huge heart that's been opening up to evacuees, in any way they can.

The community of Enterprise, pop. 100, has opened its doors to residents during this devastating time and volunteers are working tirelessly to help evacuated residents.

Michael St. Amour is the mayor of Enterprise. He also manages the Cash and Carry furniture store. He said he got calls Sunday evening from the mayor of Hay River and chief of KFN.

"Kandis and April both called me and said, 'They're coming. Can you make sure the gas station is open?' and that was about it," he said.

St. Amour then called the hamlet's senior administrative officer and councilors to open up the Enterprise Community Hall, and then everyone jumped in to volunteer wherever they could.

"Some directed traffic and we just accommodated people as much as we could. If they were too tired, we gave them room to sleep that night," said St. Amour.

Some were accommodated just down the road at the Cash and Carry furniture store, which was transformed into a safe place for evacuees to sleep on brand new furniture, lounge, and relax while they waited for news.

At the community center, volunteers also provided sleeping accommodations, hygienic supplies and grocery services. They also offered three meals a day, news and entertainment and offered water and sewer services for people staying in campers.

"When they woke up," said St. Amour. "We said you need to go to Yellowknife to the evac centre and gave them the phone numbers to call. Most of them left and some of them stayed."

Though the territorial government wanted evacuees to gather in Yellowknife, St. Amour said some resisted — primarily seniors. 

"I understand Yellowknife has a lot more amenities than we do, a lot more resources than we do but the seniors just didn't want to go," he said. 

That includes Tessie Gonzales and her husband Romeo, who've lived in Hay River for 50 years. They said the drive to Yellowknife isn't safe for them so they're thankful to have a safe place to sleep, closer to home.

"We really like it here, it's a very friendly town," Tessie Gonzales said.

She said Enterprise residents have been incredibly helpful and compassionate. 

"We're very fortunate to have been allowed to stay here because my husband and I both have health issues," said Gonzales. "My husband cannot take that long drive because of his [heart] condition, so this is the most comfortable place for us to stay and we appreciate it very much."

Gonzales said they also appreciate the community hall where they sometimes go for supper and socialize. Her husband Romeo said one night they had a live band playing and it was nice to see some smiling faces.

"We really enjoy the company, we know a lot of people there," said Gonzales.

Debbie Richard, another Hay River resident, is also staying at the Cash and Carry. She spends her days working on a diamond art picture of her grandson. 

St. Amour said after seeing seniors sleeping in their vehicles instead of moving on prompted him to approach council to allow them to stay instead of moving them along.

"I wasn't brought up to push people away when they need help and it hurt me that night telling people they needed to move on," he said.

The government has now declared Enterprise an evacuation location.  And with no clear end in sight for the evacuation order, the small community is as good a place as any, for those fleeing the fire.