An evacuation has been ordered for a First Nation community in Northwest Territories due to a wildfire.
A state of emergency has been declared in Whatì and all of the community's roughly 500 residents were ordered to evacuate.
An update posted by the community government says reception centres were being set up in Yellowknife and Behchokǫ́, the nearest community by road about 160 kilometres away.
Evacuees were told to register at the Whatì Cultural Centre.
Earlier this week, officials had said Friday was expected to bring challenging firefighting conditions, with winds forecasted to push the fire toward the community.
Fire crews tried to aggressively attack the fire after it broke out from a lightning strike earlier this month, officials said. But feeding off the territory's hot and dry conditions, the fire has continued to advance on the community, blazing through as much as four kilometres in a single night earlier this week.
An evacuation notice was first issued on Monday for the community before it was upgraded to an alert on Wednesday.
An update posted Thursday night said officials expected challenging wildfire conditions through Saturday evening, before an expected improvement.
Northwest Territories has seen drought conditions persist since 2022. This week, southern parts of the territory are under a heat warning expected to extend into Saturday.
Climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, has increased the severity and likelihood of wildfires, heat waves and drought, scientists say.
Wildfire smoke was expected to choke the skies above Whatì on Friday with pollution at dangerously high levels, according to forecasts produced by a team at the University of British Columbia. Air quality warnings had been issued by Environment Canada.
RCMP said their officers would be assisting evacuation efforts and conducting patrols along the evacuation routes.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2025.
Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press
