Wildfire threat to Yellowknife deemed serious as parts of city on evacuation alert

The news briefing came on the heels of Yellowknife declaring an evacuation alert for parts of the city’s west end and Thompson declaring a territorial state of emergency due to wildfires and evacuations in many parts of the territory.

The emergency declaration will allow the territory 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,” according to a news release on Tuesday afternoon.