Hay River

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau got an up-close look at the burned-out remains of buildings and vehicles Wednesday as he toured parts of the Northwest Territories ravaged by a record wildfire season.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to visit areas ravaged during a record wildfire season in the Northwest Territories today.

Jennifer Coleman has lived in and around Hay River in the Northwest Territories her whole life, but the highway into the community felt like a strange place as she and other wildfire evacuees were allowed to return there on Saturday for the first time in over a month.

Thousands of people from the Northwest Territories have returned home this week after a wildfire evacuation order was lifted for Yellowknife's 20,000 residents.

A wildfire official says the town of Hay River will be at risk over the next few days with strong winds and high temperatures making a dangerous situation even worse.

Fire-weary Northwest Territories is preparing for tens of thousands of people to return home after a much-needed win in the battle against a blaze that was threatening Yellowknife.

Wildfires continue to disrupt communication services in the Northwest Territories as crews braced for tough days fighting the blaze threatening the capital city of Yellowknife.

Wildfires threatening communities in the Northwest Territories were kept at bay on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, as politicians continued grappling with “astronomical” costs of fighting the blazes and how to eventually get people home.

Northwest Territories officials are using roadblocks to turn back Yellowknife residents who are attempting to return home despite the city still being under a state of emergency.

The mayor of Yellowknife says it's not safe for residents to go home to the territorial capital, but notes city officials are working on a return plan as a fire continues to burn about 15 kilometres away.

Firefighters battling a wildfire near the capital of the Northwest Territories shifted from defence to offence, as the legislative assembly is set to be recalled to consider a law delaying the upcoming territorial election.

Defence Minister Bill Blair says another company of soldiers is being deployed to Hay River in the Northwest Territories, which has been evacuated for more than a week due to a threatening wildfire nearby.

Officials in the Northwest Territories are urging thousands of residents remaining in its capital to leave by noon today before a nearby wildfire could cut off access.

Firefighters will be watching the skies over the next couple of days hoping for help from Mother Nature as wildfires along the Alberta-Northwest Territories boundary continue to force evacuations.

For the second time this year, K’atl’odeeche First Nation in the Northwest Territories was part of the evacuation alert following an out-of-control wildfire fuelled by strong winds and dry conditions over the weekend.