With wildfires forcing the evacuation of several communities, the territorial government declared an NWT-wide state of emergency late Tuesday afternoon.
“We find ourselves in a crisis situation and our government is using every tool available to assist,” said Municipal and Community Affairs Minister Shane Thompson. “The decision to declare a territory-wide state of emergency allows the Government of the Northwest Territories and our partners to access and deploy resources so that we can continue our work to protect residents and communities in a more efficient manner.”
The declaration under the Emergency Management Act allow the GNWT to “acquire and deploy the necessary resources to support the management of this unprecedented wildfire season, and protect the health and safety of Northwest Territories residents,” a news release stated.
The territorial government described the wildfires in the North and South Slave regions as “rapidly evolving” and the needs on the ground are quickly changing.
“Fort Smith and Hay River remain at risk due to wildfires burning in the South Slave region. Yellowknife is also at an increased risk due to a wildfire approaching from the west,” a news release reads. “Residents, businesses, and organizations continue to be incredibly helpful, supportive, and cooperative during our ongoing wildfire and emergency response. We continue to be thankful to everyone who is supporting these efforts. At this time, nothing is more important than protecting the health and safety of NWT residents and communities, and the GNWT believes this measure will support the management of this unprecedented situation.”
The City of Yellowknife declared a state of local emergency on Monday. At that time, Thompson was reluctant to follow suit, indicating that adequate resources were available and that declaring a state of emergency would cause additional stress.
Declaring a territory-wide state of emergency provides additional powers to the minister and those designated by the minister to do all acts and take all necessary proceedings to deal with an emergency while the order is in effect.
The declaration will exist for 14 days and can be renewed if the minister determines that an emergency still exists.