FORT SMITH, N.W.T. — Evacuation orders have been issued for several communities along the boundary between Alberta and the Northwest Territories due to nearby wildfires.
The Town of Fort Smith, NWT, with a population of about 2,000, posted on its website on Saturday that people should leave the area in a calm fashion over the next eight hours.
The post says the decision was based on a recommendation by Parks Canada due to forecasted fire behaviour, and the same order was also posted online by the Smith's Landing First Nation.
It says that Parks Canada and the NWT government will try and maintain Highway 5 access for as long as possible throughout the night.
Twenty-five kilometres south in Alberta, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo says all residents of Fort Fitzgerald, a hamlet along the Slave River, must also leave due to nearby wildfires.
Parks Canada said earlier Saturday that strong winds were forecasted to push Wood Buffalo National Park’s Fire 7 to the east, close to communities, and that residents of Fort Smith had already put its residents on evacuation alert.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2023.
The Canadian Press
