Evacuation order issued for wildfire-threatened Sambaa K'e, N.W.T.

An evacuation alert has been issued for the wildfire-threatened community of Sambaa K’e, N.W.T., according to the territory’s Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.

In an email to CBC News early Wednesday afternoon, department spokesperson Jay Boast confirmed the evacuation order and said an evacuation centre was being set up in Fort Simpson, N.W.T.

According to N.W.T. Fire, the wildfire is about 30 kilometres away from the community and has consumed nearly 100,000 hectares of land on both sides of the border, including nearly 50,000 hectares of land within the N.W.T. 

Jessica Davey-Quantick, a fire information officer with N.W.T. Fire, has said it has