How the city of Yellowknife is preparing for wildfire season, according to staff

As another wildfire season gets underway, some Yellowknife residents are asking how the city is getting ready.

That was the question people like Ariel Whaley had on their minds at an information session held on Saturday.

Whaley said she wanted to learn more about how governments prepared for wildfires going into the devastating 2023 summer, and what they will be changing based on lessons learned — especially when it comes to Yellowknife's evacuation plan.

"Sometimes it did feel a little disorganized [last year] in what was going on, which sometimes made me feel unsafe … with the city not really knowing when they were going to evacuate, or if they were actually going to," she said.

This year, she wants to see more clarify around evacuations, as well as more communication from governments over social media.

The drop-in event, which was held at the Yellowknife Community Arena, was organized by the N.W.T. department of Environment and Climate Change in partnership with the city.

Structural protections

Chris Greencorn, director of public works with the city of Yellowknife, was there to speak to residents about the structural protections surrounding the capital.

"I think we're in a much better spot this year," he said, despite the extremely dry conditions.

He said that already having extensive firebreaks from last year will be the biggest help, though they will likely need to be cleaned up before wildfire season starts.

Ariel Whaley attended the wildfire information event on Saturday to learn about what governments are doing to prepare for the upcoming wildfire season. (Sarah Krymalowski/CBC)

He said getting crews out to assess those firebreaks so that work can start is "one of the first things on our do-to list."

Greencorn says other behind-the-scenes work for for the summer has already been done. This winter, the city completed an analysis of what equipment they might need to purchase for the upcoming summer.

They have also been consulting with stakeholders such as the NTPC, Northland Utilities, and the SPCA.

Emergency plans and communications

When asked about how the city was planning for an evacuation, Yellowknife's director of public safety Craig MacLean pointed to the several reviews underway.

The City of Yellowknife is updating its emergency plan, and has contracted consulting firm KPMG to conduct an after-action review into last summer's evacuation. Both are set to be released to the public on June 1.

The city is also developing a more detailed, evidence-based plan on how to protect properties on the city's periphery from fire, which should be completed in mid-June.

Finally, he said the city has "revamped" its website in an effort to make information about emergencies easier to find. They are also trying to do a better job of directing people to relevant information from other sources such as NWT Fire.

Fire breaks around Yellowknife on August 17, 2023. (Chris Greencorn/City of Yellowknife)

'I think they have a better plan this season'

Yellowknife resident Jesse Jasper dropped by the information session with his wife Patty.

He said he was very pleased with the preparation he saw from the city, especially with regards to fire breaks and other protections around Yellowknife. But he does think it's a little overdue.

"2014 should have taught us a few things, but we're learning that it didn't," he said.

Whaley said that she was also glad to learn about wildfire season preparation happening in the city.

"I think they have a better plan this season, just from talking to people that are here today."

Jesse Jasper attended the 'open-style' wildfire information session held in Yellowknife on Saturday. He said he was pleased with the preparation he saw from the city, especially with regards to fire breaks and other protections around Yellowknife. (Sarah Krymalowski/CBC)

But the main reason she is feeling better about fire season than last year is that she has done a lot more personal preparation.

She has a go bag prepared with seasonal clothes, a box packed with sentimental items like photo albums to take with her in case of evacuation, and knows what she would need to bring for her dog.

"I definitely do think there is a probability we're going to be evacuated this summer, but we went through it once. We can probably do it again," she said.