‘This my home, and I’m really scared’: Terrified Yellowknife residents scramble to evacuate before wildfires spread

Over 20,000 residents are evacuating from Yellowknife, the Northwest Territories capital. They have until Friday at noon to escape before wildfires threaten to reach the community by the weekend.

According to officials, as of late Wednesday, flames are about 16 kilometres from Yellowknife’s municipal boundary, and fires could potentially reach Ingraham Trail by Friday and the outskirts of the city by the weekend if it does not rain.

Morgan Tsetta, a photographer based in Yellowknife, has been informing her followers of the Northwest Territories since July 24 due to the lack of media coverage.

Yesterday she posted a Tik Tok video with the caption, “Pray for me and my family as we evacuate our traditional homelands. This has never happened before, and I have so much family to take care of.”

“This is an unprecedented time for the capital city of Yellowknife,” she says emotionally in the video. “This my home, and I’m really scared.”

Like Tsetta, many residents are evacuating by car, all driving into the highway south, Highway 3, the only road out of Yellowknife to Alberta or British Columbia for safety. This route also leads through the wildfire burn area and past the active fire.

“I’m currently one of 20,000 people evacuating Yellowknife. 2 people & 4 cats in a tiny smart car. Weeping over our profuse vegetable garden, which will die of thirst in our absence,” one resident tweeted

“It took my sister 5 hours to drive from Yellowknife to Behchoko tonight (normally 1). The last 50km, they followed a pilot vehicle. She said it’s lightly raining now. Hoping to get to Fort Providence. Slow going. #NWT wildfires,” another tweeted.

Canada’s military is conducting airlift operations out of Northwest Territories, which are set to begin on Thursday afternoon, the territory’s government said, with five flights scheduled to Calgary. However, the availability is limited, causing long registration lines and wait times.

Residents attempting to book a flight due to driving risks like tires melting on the road are now facing high travel prices. Many are accusing airlines of gouging prices, though a company representative confirmed via statement to Yahoo Canada higher prices were because of more complicated itineraries.

“In these instances where people are posting screenshots of higher fares from social media, these are based on complex itineraries involving multiple flights, and sometimes multiple carriers, rather than direct flights out,” Air Canada’s emailed statement reads.

RELATED: Air Canada, Westjet explain prices of Yellowknife flights

Canadian wildfires have burned more than 100,000 square kilometres so far this year. Over 150,000 people have been forced to leave their homes.

Northwest Territories residents who need to evacuate can register on the government’s website.