Latest news with #NorthwestTerritories
CBC
2 days ago
- General
- CBC
CBC Igalaaq - July 28, 2025 42 minutes ago Duration 30:06
CBC Igalaaq - July 28, 2025 News Duration 30:06 Viewers from Nunavut and the Northwest Territories are kept up to date by daily current events and news from the Inuit world
CBC
2 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Jean Marie River residents told to prepare in case of evacuation due to threatening wildfire
Jean Marie River First Nation in the N.W.T. warned residents to be prepared for the possibility of an evacuation as a wildfire burns 23 kilometres from the community. In a Facebook post published around 12:30 p.m. on Monday, the community government wrote that an evacuation alert has been issued. An alert is the second on a three-tier system the territory uses for emergencies, and means residents should get their personal belongings prepared in case an evacuation is ordered. The community's Chief Melanie Norwegian-Menacho confirmed with CBC News that the evacuation alert had been issued. She said this came from information shared by the territorial government. Norwegian-Menacho said the community is not in immediate danger, but that the warning comes from a possible shift in the winds, which could push the fire toward the community. N.W.T. Fire also confirmed the evacuation alert is in effect. The threatening wildfire, known as FS014-25, was caused by lightning, according to the N.W.T. Fire map. It is 2,200 hectares in size and is burning out of control. An update on the fire says the northeast corner of the fire is particularly active, and crews are working to contain it.
CBC
2 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Evacuation alert for Jean Marie River, N.W.T. downgraded to evacuation notice
Social Sharing Residents in Jean Marie River, N.W.T. no longer have to be ready for a potential evacuation after the community downgraded its evacuation alert to an evacuation notice Saturday afternoon. In a Facebook post, the First Nation said the risk of a nearby wildfire fire has lessened. The community was put on evacuation alert on July 7, advising people to prepare in case they had to leave on short notice. According to the N.W.T. fire map on Saturday afternoon, the wildfire is about 24 kilometres northwest of the community. In an update Saturday night, N.W.T. Fire said that wildfire crews and airtankers are continuing to keep the fire from spreading toward the community, including two fire crews of 11 firefighters working on the south side of the fire closest to the community. On Thursday morning, N.W.T. Fire information officer Charles Poon said rain had helped prevent the fire from moving closer to the community and that a large sprinkler system had been set up around Jean Marie River. The evacuation notice indicates that there is an increased risk to the community. Jean Marie River First Nation is asking residents to be aware that conditions could change and to follow the Facebook page for updates.
CBC
2 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Jean Marie River residents told to prepare again for potential evacuation due to wildfire
Social Sharing Jean Marie River, N.W.T., has issued another evacuation alert, after strong winds caused a nearby wildfire to grow toward the community this weekend. Leaders in the community issued the evacuation alert on Sunday, asking residents to keep their cars full of gas and gather important documents in case the community needs to evacuate later. This marks the second evacuation alert for Jean Marie River this summer due to the same wildfire, FS014. The first evacuation alert, issued on July 7, was downgraded to an evacuation notice a few days later. Mike Westwick, a fire information officer with N.W.T. Fire, told CBC on Monday that strong winds this weekend caused the fire to make a "significant run" toward Jean Marie River, and that the fire had "jump[ed] some containment lines" established earlier this month. He said the fire is currently about 14 kilometres from the community at its closest point. Westwick said winds are expected to shift later on Monday, making it less likely the fire will continue to grow toward Jean Marie River. He added that crews are working to stop the growth of the fire toward Jean Marie River. They are dropping fire retardant at the fire's perimeter by ground and by air tanker. Structural protection specialists are also working to re-establish sprinklers and other structural protections around Jean Marie River that were removed after risk to the community was downgraded earlier this month. On Monday, Jean Marie River First Nation announced that it was postponing this year's family reunion and annual general meeting, events that were scheduled to happen next weekend.
CBC
2 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Measles cases in Alberta pose risk for the territory, says N.W.T. public health
As many people living in the Northwest Territories travel through Alberta over the summer, the territory's chief public health officer says that comes with a risk of measles exposure and she's urging residents to check their vaccination status. "This is something we're watching very carefully," Dr. Kami Kandola said. As of July 24, Alberta has seen 1,511 measles cases this year, the latest data available from the province shows. Of them, 465 have been detected in northern Alberta, the second most affected region behind southern Alberta. Kandola said this is an area that sees a lot of traffic from N.W.T. residents, which increases the risk of the infection returning north with travellers. Measles is an airborne disease, so it can be contracted even after the contagious person has left the area. "Measles is very talented at finding the susceptible people because it is so contagious," said Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Alberta Hospital. Saxinger said if an active measles case is near someone who is not immunized against it, there is a 90 per cent chance that person will contract it. "There's a significant suspicion [that] there's a lot more spread that isn't being captured in the case counts," she said. It is likely that health care workers in Alberta are only seeing the sickest patients, and that many people weathering out the illness at home are going undetected, she said. Kandola said she doesn't expect the same to be true in the Northwest Territories because of its smaller communities. "If someone is visiting, they see someone with a big red blotchy rash on their face and they know they had travelled or they knew that they were sick," she said, "everyone will be talking, and we would find out sooner or later if someone had measles." In the N.W.T., the Tłı̨chǫ region is the most vulnerable, Kandola said. In other regions, over 90 per cent of five-year-olds have received at least one dose of the vaccine, but the rate drops to 77 per cent in the Tłı̨chǫ. Back to school With a month to go before the start of back-to-school season, the window to get children immunized against measles before they return to the classroom is narrowing. "You would want them to have a couple of weeks before school start to have full effect from the vaccination," Saxinger said. "It'll be pretty tight even if people start looking into it right now," Children need two doses of the vaccine, given at least four weeks apart, to be considered fully immunized. Yellowknife Catholic Schools temporarily closed two of its schools in early May after the chief public health officer warned that children might have been exposed to a case of measles. Adam Murray, the school board's superintendent, said they have a close relationship with public health authorities ahead of the new school year, and praised their response in the spring. He noted clinics were set up in schools afterward and that more children have been able to get vaccinated since. "We'll be well prepared for this," Murray told CBC. "We're looking forward to a healthy school year." Immunization rates are only updated yearly for the territory, but Kandola said there has been a surge in demand for measles vaccines since the case detected in May. "That's a really good sign," she said.
