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As Yellowknife evacuates, Yukon and Whitehorse governments offer help

Two flights are coming from Yellowknife to Whitehorse on Friday. The N.W.T. capital was ordered to evacuate and the City of Whitehorse and Yukon government have offered to help in a variety of ways.

Whitehorse is sending 5 local firefighters to help battle wildfires in N.W.T.

Ethan Lang · CBC News ·
A line up of people on the street.
A line of people at Sir John Franklin High School, stretching down 49th Street, waiting to get on evacuation flights out of Yellowknife. Most are heading to Alberta, but two flights from Yellowknife are coming into Whitehorse Friday. (Francis Tessier-Burns/CBC)

With two chartered flights arriving from an evacuated Yellowknife on Friday, the City of Whitehorse and Yukon government say they're ready to help, both at home and in the Northwest Territories.

As a wildfire approaches the N.W.T. capital, the territorial government there ordered Yellowknife and surrounding areas to completely evacuate by noon Friday.

Most evacuees have headed to Alberta, but two flights were expected in Whitehorse from Yellowknife on Friday. One was mostly carrying Northwestel's remaining N.W.T. staff.

The City of Whitehorse is making the Canada Games Centre available for anyone from Yellowknife who might need accommodations, as it did for evacuees from Mayo and Old Crow earlier this summer.

The city is also sending five firefighters from its local department to Yellowknife on Friday to help battle the nearby blaze there. It's also made other personnel, such as engineers and emergency co-ordinators, available to help handle the wildfire emergency.

A small wildfire burns south of Enterprise, N.W.T.
A wildfire burns south of Enterprise, N.W.T., on Thursday. Yellowknife and several other communities in the territory are under evacuation order. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

"Within the coming days, we'll know exactly how many people we can offer and what supports are best and most needed in Yellowknife to support the evacuation and response efforts over there," said Oshea Jephson, a spokesperson with the City of Whitehorse.

"We're watching closely and we're ready to support…our northern neighbours in Yellowknife," he added. 

"We're thinking of them and we want to help and we realize that this is a very tough time for them. So any way that we can do that, we're happy to do so."

Jephson says the city has been in communication with the Yukon government about how to support Yellowknife and N.W.T.

Claire Robson, spokesperson for the Yukon government, says the territory isn't expecting evacuees, but it's likewise ready to help however it can.

"This is an active and evolving situation that we will continue to monitor," she said. "And we are in regular contact with our colleagues in the Northwest Territories, and we are prepared to support if needed."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ethan Lang

Reporter

Ethan Lang is a reporter for CBC Toronto. Ethan has also worked in Whitehorse, where he covered the Yukon Legislative Assembly, and Halifax, where he wrote on housing and forestry for the Halifax Examiner.

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