Ontario sending personnel, equipment to N.W.T firefight
Ontario is sending people and gear to help fight fires in the Northwest Territories, where flames are edging closer to the capital.
Yellowknife, home to about 22,000 people, is under an evacuation order, as are several other nearby communities. Half of the population in the Northwest Territories has now been displaced by encroaching fire.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry says 65 firefighters, command, and support staff are being dispatched in the coming days, with some arriving in Yellowknife Friday.
The province is also sending equipment, including hoses, pump kits and batteries to power radios.
Some personnel may be shifted to battle fires in British Columbia.
The union representing some fire rangers in Ontario says the province isn't helping as much as it could.
"Ontario forest fire workers are being deployed to assist in the Northwest Territories, but the support they're able to offer is extremely limited due to short staffing," OPSEU President J.P. Hornick said in a statement.
"Our members working at Aviation Forest Fires and Emergency Services (AFFES) want to be able to support other provinces fight wildfires, but program cuts and underfunding by the Ford government has led to a retention crisis that's left us short a third of crews."
Toronto-based charity GlobalMedic is also sending help with two tank and pump systems, a little bigger than a washing machine. The 1,000-litre units can be used to snuff out flames.
"Because it fits on the back of a pickup truck, and there's a lot of pickup trucks in Yellowknife, we're able to turn any one of those pickup trucks into a fire truck," GlobalMedic's Executive Director Rahul Singh said Friday.
Singh expects the first unit to be given to Yellowknife's fire chief Friday, the second on Saturday.
"If we don't get these guys more gear to defend that city, it's gonna be pretty catastrophic what happens there."
The Canadian Red Cross is supporting Yellowknife evacuees who have ended up in Alberta. In Edmonton, the charity is connecting people with shelter, pillows, blankets, and toiletries.
You can donate to the Red Cross' efforts at redcross.ca
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
WATCH Why today's inflation numbers are good if you have a mortgage
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
Conservatives kick off return to House with new call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign
Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives returned to the House of Commons on Tuesday with a renewed call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign, this time over 'very partisan' and 'inflammatory' language used to promote an upcoming event.
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Loblaw boycott organizers say they plan to keep movement going past May
The organizers of a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores say they've decided to extend the boycott past May.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Nestle to sell $5 pizza, sandwiches in the U.S. for Wegovy, Ozempic users
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.