N.W.T. officials say start planning now for lifting of Yellowknife evacuation order

Residents of Yellowknife and a nearby First Nation who have been evacuated for weeks due to wildfires are being told to start planning now for their return home, beginning Wednesday.

Officials with the Northwest Territories and Yellowknife governments told a news conference that residents who will be driving home are responsible for their own food and accommodation on their way back, and that they should prepare to be self-reliant for 72 hours upon their return.

They say that means bringing along prescriptions, non-perishable food and cash.

Residents who left Yellowknife on evacuation flights are encouraged to pre-register for return flights home, either online through the territory’s public safety web page or by phone lines which are already open.

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Officials say the pre-registration will enable them to plan how many flights home will be needed, as well as where to dispatch the planes.

Only essential workers who have been contacted are being allowed back now, and everyone else is being told to stay where they are until the evacuation lifts on Wednesday.