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THEBACHA/FORT SMITH -Highway 5 to Fort Smith was closed over the weekend after a forest fire crossed the roadway.

The fire "jumped" the road on Friday at about 8 p.m.

As of Sunday morning, the blaze was eight to 10 km from Sandy Lake, which is located roughly 80 km east of Hay River.

Close to a dozen people voluntarily left the area, which has 21 residences, mostly cabins but also a few year-round homes.

"We still have extreme fire conditions there," said Judy McLinton, communications manager with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Lightning started the forest fire on July 19. It spread to about 30,000 hectares as of July 26.

As of Sunday morning, the fire was close to the edge of Wood Buffalo National Park and was being fought in a joint effort with Parks Canada.

Six ground crews consisting of five firefighters each, as well as three helicopters, six bulldozers and water trucks were combatting the blaze. Air tanker support is also available, but had not been called in as of Sunday morning.

Highway 5 was also closed for about six hours on the evening of July 24 due to backburning operations by firefighters.

The backburning began along the highway and was allowed to move into the forest fire to eliminate fuel in its path.

Smoke from the fire was drifting into Fort Resolution and even Yellowknife, depending on the direction of the wind. Smoke was also occasionally visible over Highway 6 to Fort Resolution.

Smoke from another fire at Lonely Point on the south shore of Great Slave Lake was drifting into Yellowknife, some 80 km away, last week. That fire was not threatening any structures.

The Department of Transportation also warned of delays up to an hour on Highway 3 south of Edzo over the weekend due to firefighting operations on the blaze near Behchoko.