The mayor is telling people to be patient while the council decides what to do next

What you should know about the fires in the NWT:

• People in Hay River, Kát’odeeche First Nation, Fort Smith, Enterprise, and Jean Marie River have been told to leave their homes.
• Cabin and home owners on North Prosperous Lake, North Prelude Lake, all of River Lake, and Highway 3 between km 284 and km 320 were told to leave.
• Yellowknife’s city council has declared a local state of emergency, but the city is not under an order, alert, or notice to evacuate.
• Highway 1 is closed from the Alberta border to kilometer 140, Highway 2 is closed, Highway 3 is closed between Behchok and Yellowknife, Highway 5 is closed, and the Jean Marie River access road is closed.
• NorthwesTel says it will be at least 24 hours before South Slave communities can use their phones and internet again.
• First responders left Fort Smith and went to a safer place.
• The Canadian Armed Forces are sending 124 soldiers to help fight wildfires in the territory. They are due to arrive on Wednesday.

Michael St. Amour’s Tuesday started out like most people’s: he ate breakfast and took a shower. The rest of the day, however, is anything but normal. 

“Start calling people and telling them that they either have a home or don’t. “Today is my day,” St. Amour, the mayor of Enterprise, N.W.T., said.

He hasn’t been back to the town yet to see the damage for himself, but he’s been told that not much is left. 

“I think there are three or four businesses and seven or eight homes left,” he said. “Between 85% and 90% of the people in the town are gone.” 

Most of the towns in the South Slave area were told to leave on Sunday because multiple wildfires either directly threatened the towns or threatened to shut down highways that connected them to the rest of the territory. 

People have been told to leave Enterprise, Hay River, Kát’odeeche First Nation, Fort Smith, Salt River First Nation, and Jean Marie River. There is still a warning to leave Kakisa.

When Enterprise caught on fire, it was closer to Kakisa at first. But on Sunday, strong winds pushed the fire almost 40 kilometers to the east, where it eventually reached Highway 2. 

“[Fire] SS052 has taken over Enterprise. Crews are currently figuring out how much of the building has been destroyed,” says the territory’s website.wildfire update web page.

The government of the territory has also changed itspublic safety web pageWith information for people who had to leave the South Slave area.

People who had to leave their homes and ended up in Yellowknife and need a place to stay can call 867-444-0618. 

Many people from St. Amour have moved to High Level or Grande Prairie, Alta, to find safety. since the evacuation—some people have beennearly through the fire. 

In much of the southern N.W.T., communication problems have made it hard to share information. 

St. Amour says that people he has talked to are getting worried as word gets out, especially on social media. 

He said, “Some of it is very bad, and I’d like people to stop posting things.” 

“People are driving through Enterprise and taking pictures of things before I have a chance to tell people the bad news or the good news,” he said. “It really makes things worse.” 

St. Amour has also seen videos and pictures of his town’s ruins. 

He said, “It really hurts my heart.” 

St. Amour said that the community’s council will hold a special meeting on Tuesday morning and start talking to people about what to do next. 

The mayor is telling people to wait it out. 

“We’ll rebuild, and we’ll be stronger for it.”