Yellowknife 'still under a threat' despite rains in area, mayor says

Officials say the fire burning near Yellowknife is now "highly unlikely" to reach the outskirts of the city until at least Wednesday, while the city's mayor is repeating calls for the few who remain to evacuate and for those who have left not to return.

"If you have a vehicle, please drive out," or plan to book a flight, Mayor Rebecca Alty said Monday. "Today, the fire is still a threat and we don't have a date for when folks can come back."

Over the weekend, the fire was expected to move four to five kilometres toward Yellowknife. It's currently about 15 kilometres away from city limits.

Mike Westwick, fire information officer for the N.W.T. government, said the fire moved between 100 and 200 metres closer to the city, but lighter winds than expected and successful firefighting efforts have kept the fire at bay.

Significant rain also dampened the blaze that has forced the evacuation of about 20,000 residents in Yellowknife, Ndilǫ and Dettah, with about 4.7 millimeters falling on the fire itself and 10 millimetres falling in the city. 

"It's almost a frustrating amount of rain, because you'd want more to keep the situation at bay in the long term," Westwick told Trailbreaker host Hilary Bird Monday morning. 

Alty said the amount of preparation that's gone into establishing the "really strong" firebreak around the city has been effective, but risks remain despite recent rains.

"Yellowknife is still under a threat," Alty said. "Yes, we had some rain and every little bit counts … just because it rains in Yellowknife … doesn't mean that it necessarily has impacted the fire."

WATCH | Yellowknife 'still under a threat' despite rains, mayor says:

Still, that rain "has opened new opportunities for managing this fire," reads the latest update from N.W.T. Fire. 

While winds were expected to push the fire back onto itself on Monday, Westwick said hot, dry temperatures were expected to return for the rest of the week — renewing the risk to the city. 

"Even as fire activity has been dampened by rain, there remains threat to the capital region due to the deep-burning fire which exists along a huge section of line and is currently being held down by weather conditions," reads the update. 

Westwick explained that crews have been scanning the fire with infrared equipment to determine hot spots and there's still about 40 kilometres of "hot line." 

With current conditions, crews will be able to attack the fire directly in the coming days. They also continue to build more than 10 kilometres of control lines to the west of the city and are considering controlled burns to further prevent any fire growth.