Stay away!.That is the message NWT Fire is sending to residents of Fort Smith..Fort Smith is a town of about 2,600 people in the South Slave Region in the southeastern portion of the Northwest Territories.."If you have evacuated DO NOT return," NWT Fire said.."This is an active wildfire operation area and is dangerous for residents and first responders if people start coming back before it's safe.".The fire covers 430,498 hectares, approximately 4 km south of Fort Smith. It has been held at this location for several days but is still a significant threat.."Crews have done extensive work on the northern flanks to stop its spread north towards the community, but it is still burning in other locations and remains a threat to the community," NWT Fire said.."Hot dry weather continues with a high of 27C and a relative humidity of 22%. Extreme fire behaviour is expected because of the forecasted crossover conditions.".NWT Fire said crossover occurs when the humidity is lower than the temperature.."Winds are from the southwest, gusting up to 25 to 30 km/h, with the potential for a jet stream which could cause even higher winds," said NWT Fire. "Into tomorrow, the forecast remains hot and dry with continued potential for extreme fire behaviour."."There are 277 personnel, 24 helicopters and 255 pieces of heavy equipment responding to the Wood Buffalo Complex. Team members will use direct suppression strategies, including a planned ignition operation along the dozer line west of Bell Rock, going to the east of Fort Smith.".NWT Fire said smoke may be visible from Bell Rock and Fort Smith..In Fort Smith, the old community fire guard has been refurbished to be a 100-metre guard that has been scraped down to mineral soil, extending from West 40 to Pine Lake Road, just south of Border Town.."Dozers have constructed airport guards extending south, north and west of the airport, in addition to extensive protection work down around town," NWT Fire said.."In Thebacha, helicopters were able to control a spot fire that jumped north of Hwy. 5 and crossed Connie’s Road. Structure work has been completed and sprinklers were turned on.".Approximately 10 km of dozer guard has been completed along the fire line south of Thebacha and Hwy. 5 junction, working east towards Pine Lake Road.."In the Bell Rock subdivision a dozer guard has been established around the subdivision on the southside of Hwy. 5, with an additional dozer guard established on the west side of Bell Rock," NWT Fire said.."Structure protection has been completed and crews strengthened the containment line that is south of Bell Rock and will be continuing this work east towards Fort Smith.".READ MORE: Crews keep fire 15 km from Yellowknife.A double rainbow appeared over the near-deserted city of Yellowknife on Sunday evening, inspiring hope virtually, as crews kept the wildfire 15 km from the remote northern community..Roughly 20,000 people have left and headed south to Alberta after an evacuation order was issued and residents had till noon Friday to vacate the NWT.
