Yukon First Nations Wildfire (YFNW) is sending a 20-person unit crew to aid in firefighting efforts near Fort Providence in the Northwest Territories.

YFNW informed the News on Sept. 2 that the crew left Whitehorse that morning and the firefighters’ first day on the fire line is expected to be Sept. 4.

The Yukon crew will return to Whitehorse on Sept. 20.

As of Sept. 2, the fire menacing Fort Providence is 102,270 hectares in size and out of control, according to the N.W.T. government. It has burned within 900 metres of the southeastern edge of Fort Providence. According to YFNW, Fort Providence has been evacuated and high winds are in the forecast this week.

During a period of favourable southeast winds on Sept. 2, an ignition was planned to burn off vegetation in the fire’s path to

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