Enterprise, N.W.T., '90 per cent gone' after wildfire ravages community

What you need to know about the N.W.T. wildfires as of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday:

• Wildfire now about 20 kilometres from Yellowknife

• Yellowknife under state of emergency

• Stanton Territorial Hospital ramping down ICU services and patients will be transferred to emergency department or Alberta; extended care patients will be transferred south

• Evacuation orders issued for communities of Hay River, Kátł'odeeche First Nation, Fort Smith, Enterprise and Jean Marie River

• Evacuation orders issued for cabin and home owners on North Prosperous Lake, North Prelude Lake, all of River Lake, and on Highway 3 from kilometres 284 and 320

• Behchokǫ̀, Edzo, Frank Channel and Kakisa under evacuation alert

• South Slave evacuees, including those in Grande Prairie, Alta., now being asked to go to St. Albert, Alta., and register at Servus Place at 400 Campbell Road

• Highways 2 and 5 are closed. Highways 1 and 3 are open. The Jean Marie River access road is closed. The N.W.T. government is asking residents not to travel by highway unless absolutely necessary

• Phone and internet interrupted through South Slave region

• People can alert loved ones that they're safe on the NWT Wildfires Safety Check Facebook group

• For more information visit the N.W.T. public safety website

Michael St Amour's Tuesday started off like most everyone's — eat breakfast and shower — but the rest of the day is nowhere near normal.

"Start calling people and telling them that they either have a home or not. That's my day today," said St Amour, the mayor of Enterprise, N.W.T.

While he's yet to return to the community and see the damage for himself, he says he's been told there's little left.

"I think there's seven or eight houses left and three or four businesses," he said. "Between 85 and 90 per cent of the community is gone."

Brad Mapes is a resident from Hay River — another community that evacuated on Sunday due to the wildfires — but owns a transloading site about four kilometres north of Enterprise.

Mapes said he had time to move equipment on his site and it was spared by the fire — it could have been disastrous otherwise.

"I had 60 railcars of fuel there," he said. "I was so worried that something could have happened with those fuel cars, [if they] go up, it would have really affected a lot of the region."

Mapes credits the safety of site to the FireSmarting work they had done prior.

"It was a major relief to see that everything was still intact."

Evacuation to Alberta

On Sunday, most of the communities in the South Slave region were ordered to evacuate due to multiple wildfires either directly threatening communities or threatening to close highways connecting them to the rest of the territory.

Enterprise, Hay River, Kátł'odeeche First Nation, Fort Smith, Salt River First Nation, and Jean Marie River are all under evacuation orders. Kakisa remains under an evacuation alert.

The fire that burned Enterprise was initially closer to Kakisa. However, on Sunday strong winds pushed the fire nearly 40 kilometres to the east, ultimately reaching Highway 2.

"[Fire] SS052 has engulfed Enterprise — crews are currently assessing the extent of structure loss," reads the territory's wildfire update web page.

The territorial government has also updated its public safety web page with information for evacuees from the South Slave region.

Evacuees that ended up in Yellowknife and need accommodations can call 867-444-0618.

Many South Slave evacuees have taken refuge in Alberta communities since the evacuation — some driving nearly through the fire.

Tuesday afternoon, the N.W.T. government announced the evacuation centre set up in Grande Prairie, Alta., would be closing at 5 p.m.

The new evacuation centre will be set up at Servus Place in St. Albert, Alta.

It said buses would be available to take evacuees that did not have a means of transportation, but those with a vehicle should drive to St. Albert.

Natasha Cleary, a resident of Enterprise, shares her story of fleeing the community and learning her home was burned down.

Natasha Cleary had to flee her home in the hamlet of Enterprise, N.W.T., with her children as wildfires approached. Her home burned, and her community is devastated. 'It doesn't feel real,' she said from Grande Prairie, Alta.

Photos, videos 'gut wrenching'

With an ongoing communications outage in much of the southern N.W.T., sharing information has been difficult.

St Amour, the mayor of Enterprise, said residents that he's managed to speak to are worried as information trickles out, especially through social media.

"Some of it is very negative and I'd like people to stop posting stuff," he said.

"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 added. "It really heightens the tension."

St Amour has also seen videos and photos of the remnants of his community.

"It's really gut wrenching," he said.

St Amour said the community's council will have a special meeting Tuesday morning and start communicating with residents about next steps.

The mayor is urging residents to stay patient.

"We're gonna rebuild and we're gonna be there stronger."

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Written by Francis Tessier-Burns with files from Hilary Bird