Hay River, Northwest Territories, is under two weather warnings this week as a heat wave and thick wildfire smoke settle over the community. Environment Canada has issued both a heat warning and an air quality warning for the region, including Enterprise, with daytime highs near 30 C and overnight lows in the mid-teens.
That is about 8 to 10 degrees above the usual late-June highs of 20 C and lows of 10 C. The heat is expected to ease Thursday for areas near Great Slave Lake, though some spots like Lutsel K’e and Fort Smith could stay hot through Friday. The wildfire smoke, which has cut visibility to just five kilometres at the Hay River airport, is likely to linger at least until Wednesday night.
The double punch of heat and smoke is a health worry. Research from the UBC Faculty of Medicine shows that breathing wildfire smoke while coping with extreme heat can make respiratory, heart, and even birth-related problems worse than either hazard alone. Health officials urge people to limit time outdoors, keep windows shut, and check on elderly neighbours, pregnant women, young children, and anyone with chronic illness.
Hay River has no central air-conditioned cooling centre. The community centre lacks air conditioning, and the town has been trying since 2024 to secure funding for a place where people can escape both the heat and smoke. At the same time, the territorial government is developing a program to set up “cleaner, cooler air spaces” across the Northwest Territories to handle these overlapping emergencies.
The heat and smoke come as wildfires already force evacuations elsewhere in the territory. Fort Simpson and Wrigley are under evacuation orders, and the national fire preparedness level sits at 4 on a scale of 5. Residents can find the latest alerts and safety tips at the Environment Canada weather page or by contacting the Town of Hay River at (867) 874-6522.
