A wildfire near Hay River is still threatening the city
But the situation is "brighter" than it could be, as local authorities claim.
The mayor of the Northwest Territories town of Hay River, Kandis Jameson, describes the situation with the wildfire burning in threatening proximity to the town as more upbeat than what was initially expected. Reminder that local residents were actively evacuated from Hay River this week because it was expected that the wildfire could reach the town as early as the weekend. Nearly all residents who are not firefighters have been evacuated from the town. Kandis Jameson reported that there are still approximately 100 civilians in Hay River, but there are 2 additional Coast Guard ships in port in case they need to be evacuated.
The wildfire is still out of control, moreover, it destroyed a cabin and travel trailer on the shore of Great Slave Lake. However, it has done far less damage to the community than was expected as recently as the night before, according to the mayor of Hay River.
The water treatment plant, which cost several million, is still operational, and there were reportedly no reports of fatalities through Saturday afternoon, which Jameson called a "big win."
"So we have a much better and brighter situation than it might have been," Jameson summarized during Saturday's virtual press conference.
She also expressed gratitude to the firefighters who worked tirelessly to fight the fire and whose efforts resulted in little destruction in the region.
As of Saturday afternoon, the fire was burning just one kilometer west of the local airport and one and a half kilometers west of downtown Hay River. The fire had an area of nearly 4,000 square kilometers. The fire was also burning just 3 kilometers east of the community of River Woods Estates, 7 kilometers south of K'átł'odeeche, home to indigenous people, and 12 kilometers southeast of Kakisa.
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