Patient dies during evacuation of Yellowknife hospital

One patient of Stanton Territorial Hospital died on Friday during preparations for transport out of Yellowknife during the wildfire evacuation, according to the N.W.T.'s health minister. 

Julie Green said during a virtual news conference Saturday that the death was "expected," and offered her sympathies to the man's family. She said they would not be revealing the identity of the patient due to privacy concerns. 

Green said the 39 patients transported to B.C. by Canadian Armed Forces medical flight will be taken to different facilities.

"The hospital move was complex," she said. 

"Staff showed incredible dedication by providing the best care to our patients."

A wildfire burning out of control northwest of Yellowknife triggered the evacuation of the city of about 20,000 people, the neighbouring Yellowknives Dene communities of Ndilǫ and Dettah and residences along the Ingraham Trail this week.

The N.W.T. communities of Fort Smith, Enterprise, Hay River, Kátł'odeeche First Nation, Kakisa and Jean Marie River are also under evacuation orders due to wildfires.

Premier heeds evacuation order

Recent rain and cool weather was a relief, Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty told the news conference, but said it isn't enough to reduce the risk from the fire that remains about 15 kilometres from the city.

Alty said crews have approximately 25 kilometres of protective lines established around the city — a mix of firebreaks, water cannons and other fire mitigation measures.

N.W.T. Premier Caroline Cochrane, who represents the Yellowknife-area electoral district of Range Lake, announced at the news conference she had left the territory. She said she made the decision to leave to avoid taking a seat on a plane from someone else. 

She said she is now in Alberta.

Mike Westwick, a fire information officer with NWT Fire, urged people to remain out of the city.

"We've got huge fires encircling our capital city," said Westwick. 

He said the rain gave the crews time to look at the fire from the air to find areas to attack from. But Westwick said the weather is expected to turn and more difficult days could be returning. 

"This fire's taking a nap," he said.

"It's going to wake up." 

Westwick said the Fort Smith fire remains four kilometres from the town. 

In Hay River and Katlodeeche, he said the situation hasn't changed with the fire about eight kilometres away. That same fire is 14 kilometres from Kakisa. 

Phone and internet service remains out in Kakisa, where an evacuation order was issued Thursday. It was initially unclear whether the community was aware of the order due to the telecommunications outage.

Shane Thompson, N.W.T. minister of Municipal and Community Affairs and Environment and Climate Change, said satellite-based internet has been provided to the community and residents are aware of the order. But Thompson said about 30 people still remain, which is most of the community. 

He said they are encouraging residents to leave, but can't force them.

The stress of the evacuation was also discussed during the news conference. Alty referenced a moment when she wept during an interview Saturday with CBC Radio's Piya Chattopadhyay. 

She said she received many messages of support following the broadcast and that she encouraged everyone to let their emotions out during this difficult time. 

The territorial government has provided the following links for residents:

• Evacuation registration for N.W.T. residents.
• Territorial wildfire updates. Report smoke or fire by calling 1-877-698-3473.
• Emergency response resources.
• The latest community statuses, including notices, alerts and orders.
• Additional information for evacuees.