N.W.T. gov't outlines emergency supports for Fort Good Hope residents displaced by wildfire
Fort Good Hope Chief Collin Pierrot, territorial ministers gave an update at 12 MT
It's too early to say when residents of Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., will be able to return home, as more fire crews head for the community.
In a 12 p.m. MT update Monday, Fort Good Hope Chief Collin Pierrot said the good news is that, as of right now, all their homes and buildings are still reportedly intact.
"Everyone's going to be able to go home at the end of the day ... knock on wood," he said. "For years to come, we'll still have lots of burned wood for our people."
People have been out of their homes since Saturday afternoon, when a suspected campfire turned into a full-blown wildfire close to the fly-in community. It triggered an evacuation, with the territory organizing flights out.
Of the roughly 500 people who live in Fort Good Hope, 225 are sheltering in Norman Wells and 12 are in Délı̨nę. Many more are at a fish camp, where Pierrot said people are co-ordinating groceries, clean drinking water and daily trips for showers.
About 118 people remain in the community helping with firefighting efforts.
Jay Boast, an emergency management organization EMO information officer with the department of Municipal and Community Affairs, said residents are being asked to stay where they are until the evacuation order is lifted.
For residents who are already feeling the financial strain of being away from home, he said the territory's emergency evacuation relief program can provide $800 for adults and $400 for those under the age of 18.
He also suggested residents contact their home insurance providers to see if they have any coverage.
The wildfire burning at the edge of Fort Good Hope grew significantly overnight. It was last mapped at 1,368 hectares.
Pierrot said it's too early to estimate when people will be able to go home.
"We haven't contained the perimeter of the fire yet and everything's still kind of up in the air as to whether the wind will change direction," he said.
One step at a time
Fire information officer Frank McKay said the coming days will be focused on holding the fire, before eventually bringing it under control. Even then, people won't be able to return until essential services are up and running.
McKay said they have plans to map out the fire's perimeters, but haven't had time yet — fighting the fire takes priority.
He said this was the first wildfire of the year for the Sahtu region.
McKay said the weather outlook for today looks hopeful and should push the fire away from the community. However, it's still expected to grow.
"We're going to have a little bit of dry, hot weather coming, so probably will increase fire behaviour somewhat," he said.
Crews are working to establish control lines on the west flank of the fire facing the community. Four more fire crews are on their way from the Beaufort Delta, Fort Simpson, Lutsel K'e and Dettah, and structure protection was set up Sunday night. More structure protection is expected to be set up Monday as well.
Mail delivery suspended
On Monday afternoon, Canada Post said it would be suspending mail delivery to Fort Good Hope.
Mail will be "securely held" until further notice.
"We thank those affected for their patience in this difficult time," wrote Phil Rogers, with Canada Post's media relations.
"The safety of our employees is our number one priority."
As for telecommunications, services in the Fort Good Hope area are still working normally.
Catherine Newsome, director of marketing and communications with Northwestel, said they're keeping an eye on the network and will notify customers if anything changes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
