Wildfires continue to infuriate on the territory of the northwest, sending hundreds of people from their homes to evacuate as officials warn others to prepare to leave.
As of Wednesday, there were 106 active wildfires on the territory, with 89 being considered out of control.
Residents of Fort Providence, NWT, were evacuated on August 31, with many people hiding in the Hay River community three days later.
“We have 600 registered residents and about 150 to 200 people at COTS' REC centre,” said Hay River Mayor Candiz Jameson. “Over 1,000 meals per day, breakfast, lunch, dinner and of course our volunteers supply our residents with snacks, bannocks and all sorts of merchandise.”
However, Jameson is not a stranger to evacuation. Hay River had to experience one of his own this spring. She said the community is now returning favors.
“Like you said, we've done some evacuations over the last few years, so it's a great opportunity to thank our neighbors. “So it's nice that we can give back.”
The fire near Fort Providence is one of three people officials are considering “major priorities”, with the other two near Whati and the third near Jean Marie River.
The Whati community was ordered to evacuate on August 29th, but the First Nation community is under the evacuation warning.
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But despite the huge amount of burn, Northwest Territories wildfire intelligence officer Mike Westwick said they feel positive.
“We feel good about the progress we've made over the last few days,” he said.
“There's something to do, but I hope that in those communities we'll be able to get people home soon and safely take them home, but it's hard to put a timeline right now.”
As wildfire crews work on adjusting the fires, smoke from those flames has caused headaches in other communities.
During Labor Day weekend, air quality warnings were issued to parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan, which remained in place on Wednesday, with air quality statements in place in parts of British Columbia as well.
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The Environment Canada urges people to take precautions in severe smoke conditions because “everyone is at risk for their health, regardless of age or health.”
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Dr. Samantha Greene, a physician in Toronto, said: “So we know that exposure should be reduced because of both the short-term health impacts, as well as the long-term impacts.”
That's why she encourages people to follow the air quality health index and people need to correct their activities when rates such as 9 or 10 are high. However, even if the proportion is moderate, those at risk, such as 5 people, elderly people, young children, or people with chronic illnesses, should stay indoors.
The index indicates the level of community pollution. Ratings of 1-3 are low, 4-6 are medium, 7-10 are high risk, and those above 10 are very high risk.
On Wednesday, places like Calgary and Edmonton sat in seven ratings, with Yellowknife surpassing nine-year-old Fort Smith and NWT's Fort Smith.
For Jameson, it's not just the damage caused by wildfires and smoke, but how long it lasts.
“It's the second half of the season, so I don't think it's normal when there's a fire,” she said.
Jeffrey Brook, a professor of occupational health at the University of Toronto, told Global News that while it may be rare for smoke to come out in September, Canadians may need to adapt to a new reality.
“These conditions that are exacerbated by climate change will continue,” he said. “So the fire weather index is something that is expected to creep up in the future, and I think it will take longer hours to ski during the summer. Now we have to think about how we can adapt to it.”
– Files of Karenbartko, Amandalina Leterio and Heather from Global News
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