Rain providing 'limited' relief as weather could worsen N.W.T. wildfires in the next week

CTV National News: Life returns to Yellowknife Bill Fortier reports on Yellowknife residents being allowed to return to work, school and their lives in the capital city.

During a press conference on Saturday evening officials in the Northwest Territories said the weather forecasted for the next week may worsen wildfires raging across the territory.

Wildfire information officer Mike Westwick said great efforts have been made on the ground especially near Portsmouth as the fires remain four kilometres away from Fort Smith as well in First Nations communities in Hay River where the fires remain eight kilometres away. However, strong winds and warmer temperatures reaching around 20C are expected and that will likely make firefighting efforts more difficult.

"The fire is taking a nap but it's gonna wake up and we still have a serious situation to handle here," Westwick said on Saturday during a press conference.

Officials in the Northwest Territories have been monitoring a fire 15 kilometres to the northwest of Yellowknife, especially with winds shifting and blowing to the east.

Crews have created firebreaks, or strips of land that are cleared of trees and brush that could fuel fires, and used sprinklers and air tankers to help stop the fire from potentially spreading.

The government warns that westerly winds and warmer temperatures in the 20s are expected Sunday, which "will lead to increased fire behaviour" from noon into later in the evening.

There were 236 active fires in the Northwest Territories as of noon MDT Saturday. The territory has seen a total of 269 fires so far this year that have burned more than 21,000 square kilometres.

The weather forecast for Yellowknife has pointed to a chance of showers with a risk of thunderstorms Saturday afternoon and evening, along with wind gusts from the northwest.

Air quality statements were in effect for Yellowknife and other surrounding areas due to the wildfire smoke, while the local air quality index ranged from "very high" earlier in the morning to about "moderate" closer to noon.

VULNERABLE RESIDENTS TRANSFERRED ON EVACUATION FLIGHTS

Health and Social Services Minister Julie Green said 39 patients from Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife were transferred to British Columbia Friday late evening by Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) aircrafts. One patient has died during prepartions for transport, Green said. No details were given on the identity or cause of death of the patient.

"This was an expected death, however, I want to say my personal condolences to their family as they grieve during this difficult time," Green said during the press conference.

Green says health authorities have transferred approximately 290 patients throughout the past week.

In an email statement sent to CTV News on Saturday, a spokesperson for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) said five CAF evacuation flights have transported approximately 260 people in total, including 100 people from Fort Smith and Hay River, N.W.T., who were brought to Fort McMurrary, Alta., and about another 160 people who were taken to Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

The CAF said more than 200 members have been deployed to assist with the wildfire response. Personnel from the Royal Canadian Air Force is on standby to provide aircraft support for evacuation efforts and two Canadian Divisions from Quebec are aiding on the ground with firefighting support.

Officials in the Northwest Territories, where about half of the population has been displaced due to ongoing wildfires, said in an update Saturday evening that more than 19,000 people have left Yellowknife to date and nearly 68 per cent of the territory's population have fled.

Of the 2,600 people still left in the capital, 1,600 are considered non-essential workers.

"It happens in every community that is trying to evacuate," Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty told CTV News Channel on Saturday.

"There's a few folks that just want to stay and protect their property or they don't think it's real, they think it's not a threat, so it's a challenge, but we'll continue to stress — now is the time to leave. The time is not when it's actually a critical emergency."

Alty said the reason is so crews who are helping to protect the community can "focus on the threat at hand and not trying to get people out of the way of the danger."

"So, again, really encourage anybody, if your family is still here, keep trying to encourage them to leave," she added.

Yellowknife, a city of about 22,000 people, and other communities in the Northwest Territories are currently under an evacuation order and the territorial government has declared a state of emergency because of the fires.

Most residents have fled to Alberta and Manitoba by road and evacuation flights. More flights out of Yellowknife were scheduled Saturday.

The B.C. government, meanwhile, has also declared a state of emergency due to fires there, namely in the West Kelowna area.

Alty said while there has been some rain, it is still not enough to control the fire.

"I don't want to paint the over-positive picture because I also have heard, 'Oh, OK, it's safe to come back.' No, no, no, no, it's not," she said.

RADIO STATION FEELS 'STUNTED' OVER META BLACKOUT

Devin Bellinger, programming director for 100.1 True North Radio in Yellowknife, told CTV News Channel that he saw people at local grocery stores and trying to fill up their vehicles on Friday.

"There's a lot of mixed feelings about people leaving on their own accord," he said. "Maybe some people were getting their last-minute supplies yesterday, but there were also a lot of people who did leave."

Bellinger has chosen to stay behind but said he has plans in place to leave by air or vehicle if he needs to.

Highway 3, the only major roadway in or out of Yellowknife, remains open and officials say thousands of people and vehicles have already left the city.

"If the fires breach the city, I'm sure a lot of those people who would stay behind will probably take off at that point," Bellinger said.

However, he said the ability to communicate to listeners and readers through social media has been "stunted" due to Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, blocking some Canadians from seeing news on their platforms in opposition to the federal government's Online News Act.

The law forces companies such as Meta and Google to develop agreements to compensate news companies for sharing their content.

Meta said in a statement Thursday that Canadians could still use the company's platforms "to connect with their communities and access reputable information, including content from official government agencies, emergency services and non-governmental organizations."

Content posted on the Facebook page for 100.1 True North could not be viewed by CTVNews.ca at the time of publication.

"We are able to still update our website and the problem is it's hard to reach everyone who's evacuated, who follows our social (media pages) because of this," Bellinger said.

"And whoever is to blame for it, it's certainly something that tech giants should consider in emergency situations like this."

News Media Canada, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and the CBC have filed a request to the Competition Bureau to investigate and prohibit Meta from blocking news on its platforms. CTV News is a division of Bell Media, which is a member of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters.

With files from CTV National News Alberta Bureau Chief Bill Fortier