The City of Yellowknife shared a list of improvements earlier this month detailing how the municipal government will better respond to wildfires this year.
Jo-Ann Martin, co-owner of the Bullock’s Bistro, harbours anxiety over what the summer fire season may bring, but she’s grateful for government efforts to better safeguard the community.
The iconic restaurant’s owners and staff had to leave the territory under the evacuation order last year. During the resulting scramble, fish and food was packed into a freezer, and Martin left the electricity running to keep the supply from spoiling. But with limited space, some of the fish was given away to friends or family.
“We had just come through the pandemic it was a good summer. We were feeling pretty good about things, and tourism season was coming up — just started at the middle of August — and we were excited because we had a lot of reservations set up for September,” Martin recalled.
The back-to-back crises of the pandemic and the wildfires with so little recovery in between felt like an “emotional roller coaster,” she said.
After returning from the evacuation, the business reopened in September but there wasn’t a reliable source of fresh fish for a few months, according to Martin. Bullock’s served customers intermittently and also sold frozen fish at times — a new twist to keep revenue flowing. It wasn’t until late November or early December when the bistro was able to resume normal hours and a full menu.
With the upcoming wildfire season fast approaching, Martin is trying to maintain optimism.
“For us, there’s just wait and see, there’s nothing we can do to prepare, really,” she said, noting that low water levels and a mild winter add to her apprehension. She added that she saw hot spots on the side of the highway during her drives in the winter, indicating that there could be flare-ups early this year.
She believes that fire breaks that the city put in place last year will help protect Yellowknife from the threat, but it should have been done years ago, she reasoned.
One area where she’s counting on the municipality to do better is in terms of transparency and information flow.
“I think that there could have been a much better job relaying that information out, but you’ve got to think a lot of these people aren’t familiar with that type of situation either,” Martin said, adding that keeping the public informed should be the first priority.
The city has committed to improve communication with residents — in part through its website — and all levels of government.
The municipality has also hired consulting firm KPMG to conduct an after-action review, which will evaluate what occurred during last year’s evacuation, what should have happened, and to identify other areas for improvement. The results for that report are expected to be available in June.