Evacuees total 55 in Lac La Biche so far, locals help firefighting cause in NWT

Firefighters from Lac La Biche join wildfire blaze mitigation. 

Fifty-five evacuees from the Northwest Territories are currently staying in Lac La Biche as the hamlet expects more to arrive with the wildfire crisis situation up north escalating.

Designated as one of a handful reception centres across the province, Lac La Biche emergency management officials have been taking in those fleeing the fires in Northwest Territories since late last week.

John Kokotilo, Protective Services manager for the County, says there have been 55 people who have arrived, bringing 23 pets along with them. 

“We are growing. If I was safe to say probably 10 or 15 per day,” he told Lakeland Connect.

“We’re not one of the main hubs. For example, I think if I’m not mistaken High Level and Grande Prairie are at capacity, so people are coming down here. Some people are coming from Edmonton.” 

Northwest Territories and Alberta governments have been coordinating on how to evacuate and where these families can go.

They get registered through the Alberta website and are then set up in a motel, given vouchers for meals, and get access to services like laundry or transportation.

Kokotilo says they can take up to 300 people here for a comfortable stay.

‘As much help as we possibly can’

Approximately 68 per cent of the territory, 26,000 people, have evacuated as 234 wildfires are burning.

The fire that is threatening Yellowknife is about 15 kilometres away.

In 2016, Lac La Biche was one of the major centres that took on up to 4,800 evacuating Fort McMurray during those fires. Being a main artery along Highway 63 or Highway 881, it was shades of this emergency management that places Lac La Biche as a main spot for those that need refuge in a northern community.

“I want everybody to be in a bed, not in a cot, have their own little kitchenette have their own little space. So we we’ve got more or less the hotels on board with this,” Kokotilo said. 

“We try to provide as much help as we possibly can.”

While no is sure how long this evacuation will last, Kokotilo expects this carry at least until the end of August.

‘It’s pretty spicy up there’

Meanwhile, crew members from Lac La Biche are up fighting the northern wildfires.

Captain Mark Wiebe, along with firefighters Nicole Cardinal and Leah Larocque are operating at Fort Smith with the SPU — Structure Protection Unit. 

This truck acts similar to an oscillating lawn sprinkler.

“We’re switching them on on a weekly basis,” said Kokotilo. “I just had a conversation with my lead and I talk to them every evening. And it’s getting — as he put it — pretty spicy up there.” 

Military deployment has also been announced, as approximately 350 Canadian Armed Forces members have joined the fight, focusing on the areas of Yellowknife and Hay River.

What everyone in the region is hoping for is a hand from Mother Nature and a heavy downpour.