Evacuation order issued for Old Crow, Yukon, as weather threatens to worsen fire conditions

The Vuntut Gwitchin government has issued an evacuation order for Old Crow, Yukon, due to the potential for the weather conditions in the coming days to worsen nearby wildfires.

The government issued the order early Wednesday afternoon with the support of the Yukon's Emergency Measures Organization and on the recommendation of Yukon Wildland Fire Management.

On Facebook, the Vuntut Gwitchin government noted that Old Crow is not currently under immediate threat from the fires. 

However, winds from the north and northeast are expected to increase in the next two days.

"We've been sitting quietly, co-ordinating and getting ourselves organized in the event that we have to evacuate," Vuntut Gwitchin Chief Pauline Frost said in an interview.

"Given the weather is changing significantly in the next hour … we're going to see some pretty intense winds, which means the fire will likely pick up and start moving towards the community, so it's a precautionary measure we are putting in place."

Frost said there are two fires burning near Old Crow at the moment — one about five kilometres away, and the other approximately 12 kilometres from the community. 

"We've been sitting under intense smoke for the last almost 10 days now," she said. 

There are currently 165 people in Old Crow, according to Frost, with other residents having already left due to the smoky conditions. 

Chief urges residents not to panic

Frost urged Old Crow residents not to panic, and to pack their bags and make their way to the community hall. From there, she said, staff will be able to co-ordinate getting people on planes, with priority going to elders, people with health conditions, women and children.

There will be four flights from Old Crow Wednesday afternoon and evening, according to a Facebook post from the Vuntut Gwitchin government, with the first plane scheduled to land at 4:30 p.m.

Residents will then spend the night in Inuvik, N.W.T., the post says, with another plane scheduled to transport people to Whitehorse Thursday afternoon.

The Yukon government has not issued its own evacuation order for Old Crow, but emergency co-ordination centre information officer Diana Dryburgh said the government is in "full support" of the Vuntut Gwitchin government's order.

"Fundamentally, it wouldn't really change anything if we were to issue our own," she said, explaining that existing legislation would require the government to first issue an alert. There would also be other complications due to the fact that Old Crow is not a municipality. 

Dryburgh said the Yukon government is offering "the same level of support that we're offering evacuees from Mayo," including space at the reception centre at the the Canada Games Centre in Whitehorse and access to food and lodging through emergency social services.

Yukon fire information officer Haley Ritchie told CBC News Wednesday afternoon that there were 21 fires burning across the Old Crow region. The main concerns, she said, were that the strong winds in the forecast could worsen smoke conditions and potentially blow flaming material into Old Crow. 

There is no "direct attack" response to the fires right now, she said. The two firefighters in Old Crow are putting structure protections in place.

"We really don't want people to panic," Ritchie said. "An evacuation, a fire situation like this, it's a little different in a fly-in community…. We want to make sure everybody's taken care of and so we're working hard to make that happen and to keep Old Crow safe."

The Yukon government urges Old Crow residents to register with Emergency Support Services by phoning 867-332-4597. Evacuees can also register at the Canada Games Centre.