Unclear whether wildfire-threatened Kakisa, N.W.T., has evacuated under order

An evacuation order was issued for the small community of Kakisa, N.W.T., shortly before noon on Thursday — but more than 24 hours later, it was unclear whether any of its residents remained in the community or if they'd left.

The evacuation order directed Kakisa residents to head to Fort Simpson because of a fire burning in the area — the same one that triggered an evacuation order in Hay River over the weekend. N.W.T. Fire said the fire was 11 kilometres south of Hay River, and 14 kilometres east of Kakisa on Friday. 

Kakisa is about a 135-kilometre drive west from Hay River, N.W.T. As of Friday evening, the community of about 40 people did not have telecommunications service according to NorthwesTel. 

Kele Antoine, the chief of Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation in Fort Simpson, said Friday afternoon he didn't believe anyone from Kakisa had arrived in Fort Simpson yet. 

"No cell phones, no phones, no internet. So what we think is, they did not get the evacuation notice," he said.

Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation is not directly overseeing operations at the evacuation centre in Fort Simpson, which is already supporting evacuees who fled fire from Jean Marie River, N.W.T., earlier in the week, but Antoine said it is part of Dene culture to check in with a community's chief or elders when travelling. 

"We got some information from some people from Fort Providence that had gone over to check on them and maybe assist with the evacuation and found them all happily there, in their community, living the beautiful traditional life that they do," said Antoine. Fort Providence is a 70-kilometre drive northwest of Kakisa.

"Nobody had, as of then, left the community. So we're a little bit concerned about that," he said. 

Fort Simpson's hamlet office told CBC News that as of Thursday, 80 evacuees had registered at the evacuation centre. The hamlet did not have updated numbers from Friday, and was not able to confirm whether any of the registered evacuees had come from Kakisa.

CBC News tried to reach the chief in Kakisa, but the call did not go through. 

CBC News also reached out to the territory's Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, as well as a communications director for information, but did not hear back as of publication time. 

"With the wide scale evacuation of Yellowknife … perhaps there's a little less capacity there than normal," said Antoine. "But we have to ensure that our people are taken care of with the same level of care that everyone else is currently receiving." 

According to the latest update from N.W.T. Fire, Thursday and Thursday night were "really positive." Friday also brought overcast and cooler temperatures, which were expected to give crews time to make progress on the fire near Kakisa, the update reads. 

Moving forward, N.W.T. Fire said heavy equipment would be focusing on "tight-lining" the fire on its west side — which is closer to Kakisa. It also said crews would be confirming that fire measures in place in Kakisa are still working, and that 200 military personnel were arriving — by air and by road — to help fight it.

If you are a Kakisa resident, or if you've been in touch with anyone in Kakisa recently, please email liny.lamberink@cbc.ca