Exploring the impacts of the 2023 wildfire evacuations in the Northwest Territories: a grey literature review.

Abstract

The Northwest Territories (NWT) experienced an unprecedented wildfire season in the summer of 2023, triggering a record number of evacuation orders across the territory. This review aims to improve understandings of the community-level impacts of the 2023 wildfire evacuations in the NWT, addressing a gap in research by analysing the impacts of the evacuations and offering insights to inform future emergency preparedness and targeted investigations. Using a grey literature review methodology, 96 sources - including news articles, community reports, and government reports were analysed to assess evacuation impacts. Through inductive thematic analysis, nine key themes emerged: mental health; equity-deserving populations; local businesses and economy; evacuee financial struggle; supply chains; healthcare; education; recreation and entertainment; and cross-cutting. While some sources reported that evacuation-related challenges stemmed directly from wildfire threats, many evacuee experiences were intensified by existing gaps in emergency response, communication breakdowns, and inadequate supports for equity-deserving groups. Findings suggest that the impacts of the 2023 NWT wildfire evacuations exacerbated pre-existing vulnerabilities, were marked by communication failures, and had cascading, interconnected, and long-term consequences. This review highlights the far-reaching consequences of wildfire evacuations in the NWT in 2023 and underscores the need for community-led and equity-oriented emergency planning that is responsive to the specific needs of Northern populations.