The Northwest Territories wildfire crisis continues as crews in Hay River and Fort Smith battle nearby wildfires.."The Town of Hay River, West Point First Nation and surrounding area continue to be threatened because of how close this fire is to the community, and continued potential for hot, dry conditions ahead," NWT Fire said..On Tuesday, NWT Fire confirmed there was some structure loss near Hay River.."Some structure loss has been confirmed to the west of the Town of Hay River near the shores of Great Slave Lake, two cabins and a travel trailer," NWT Fire said.."No new losses confirmed today.".Reinforcements from New Zealand arrived on Tuesday and additional reinforcements from other provinces are arriving shortly, NWT Fire added.."The Town of Hay River and our team are in 'Unified Command,' meaning we are working shoulder-to-shoulder to keep the community safe," NWT Fire said.."We continue to work closely with the Hamlet of Enterprise, K’átł’odeeche First Nation, and unincorporated communities nearby in protection and mop-up work.".NWT Fire said the wildfires are within close proximity to Hay River with blazes burning only one km west of the airport and 1.5 km west of the town centre. There is also a fire 1.5 km east of River Woods Estates. On K’átł’odeeche First Nation Reserve a fire remains seven km south of residences in the reserve..However, with wind conditions changing, there is some concern from officials.."The heat wave through the North Slave continues with record-breaking heat expected overnight and into Wednesday. This is being caused by a ridge of high pressure coming from the Beaufort Delta combining with an area of low pressure from the southwestern NWT," NWT Fire said.."Winds are expected to remain gusty overnight and into Wednesday morning, with winds not calming down until that ridge of weather heads eastwards on Wednesday afternoon. High temperatures are expected to continue on Wednesday.".NWT Fire said Thursday may bring some relief with a chance of a few millimetres of rain and a chance of thundershowers into Thursday evening.."All of this combines to create challenging fire conditions," NWT Fire said.."The windy conditions and high temperatures will make for more aggressive fire behaviour.".READ MORE: Yellowknife fire is being held, preparing for phased re-entry.The City of Yellowknife said it is proactively working with the Government of the Northwest Territories to develop a phased plan to ensure the safe return of its residents..Roughly 68% have evacuated the NWT because of the wildfires..On Monday, NWT Fire announced the Behchoko and Yellowknife Fire is being held.."This is great news — but this does not mean that the fire is under control," NWT Fire said..Yellowknife currently remains under a Territorial Evacuation Order. Hwy. 3 remains closed to Northbound traffic and any person not cleared to enter will be turned back.
