Nearly 22,000 Yellowknife residents ordered to evacuate by noon Friday

'We only have one road in and out, which is the road where the fire is located,' Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty said. On Wednesday, tens of thousands of Yellowknife residents were ordered to leave the city by noon on August 18.

Connect with CBC News Online:

»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

[mikekraan]

Every city should have a mayor with the caliber of Rebecca Alty. She has kept her city informed of the situation, made the difficult decisions that needed to be made. I'm sure it has been a very stressful few weeks of late but she is obviously a leader for the people.

[rodee]

Bless those taking their animals. Thats extra difficult. We do NOT want to see another Lahaina. We want EVERYONE to be safe.

(even Sasquatch!)

[junecoulthard]

My heart goes out to everyone ❤ i can't begin to imagine how stressful this is for everyone having to evacuate and stand in line for hours and hours and to leave your home and whole life behind. Thankyou to All Fire Fighters 🔥Battling these Wild Fires and to Everyone staying behind. Be Safe! ❤

[SitnaltaErif]

This is scary. I hope everyone makes it out and there aren't any casualities.

[bkm]

I live in California and these fires are absolutely devastating, I hope all the good people of Yellowknife take heed and leave a.s.a.p., hopefully it won't cause the damage we have seen here. God's speed!

[sallylo]

So sad to hear that, where do they go? 😢

[SarahWRah]

Is there sufficient fuel to service vehicles evacuating?

[Alex_Plante]

I imagine there must be hundreds or even thousands of firefighters fighting fires, building firebreaks, setting up sprinkler systems, etc. All these people need to be supported with logistics. I expect that, even with the evacuations, you will still have a few thousand people there, working hard to fight the fires and save the city.

[greghamilton]

This is a national disaster, where is the federal government??!!

[garyhaggquist]

The NWT has warmed 2.8 C due to climate change - the highest rise of any jurisdiction in Canada. 
Thank you so much to all the firefighters! Many Canadians value your efforts to keep our communities safe! To those who are standing in the way of climate action to reduce fossil fuel CO2 emissions - stop increasing the danger to fire-fighters, first responders, air crews, and CDN military personnel - all of whom are on the front lines of the climate crisis!!!

[papamo]

It used to be that in the case of a large fire threatening a populous, every able bodied man would be enlisted or voluntarily join to be fire fighters and put that fire out to protect what they built and there community, utilizing there heavy equipment from farms and construction companies. But now, just register with the military and evacuate. im sure everyone who wanted to do something was told no and threatened with fines. Not much talk about what you're doing to fight the fire. Is there a plan 🤔 ???

[GeoHvl]

Where the F is
Trudeau? Hide your bank accounts.

[lostmoose]

How far is the next city from Yellowknife?
(My google maps doesnt work)

[davidchandler]

Can u imagine cost of this, government pay hotels n move the town, millions just move the town since so isolated to hotels

[Lisa_]

What about the pets and animals?🥺😭😭 i hope they are not left behind and everybody makes out safely… animals in the wild though😭😭

[antoninababiy]

Where is peoples car?! What happen it’s rubbing from all they have to send to 15 min city’s?!

[antoninababiy]

Where is government why don’t have tools not put fire down?! Why Fire start from all direction? In same time?!

[jasontomica]

ANOTHER MAUI, AND U CANT BLAME NATURE

[Patiencelywaitinghisreturn]

What is going on with all these fires everywhere something isnt right with all of them

[carlosrojas]

This is incredible, Canadian firefighters are the second highest paid world wide after US firefighters, both have the best and most modern equipment for firefighting, this shows us that it is not the equipment but rather human dexterity, what a shame, no pride.