Leona Mantla-Reddad was ready when the evacuation order came Monday night for people living in Behchokǫ̀, N.W.T. Earlier in the day, she’d packed bags, got supplies for her dog, and gassed up her car — heeding the advice of an evacuation alert that had been issued earlier.
“There wasn’t much traffic. I left earlier so I can make sure I can beat everyone here, so there’s not a big influx of traffic,” said Mantla-Reddad. She was standing in the parking lot of the Multiplex — now an evacuation centre — in Yellowknife around 8:30 p.m.
A pair of yellow school buses idled
