Flooding forces 700 people out of their homes in Fort Simpson, N.W.T. Poll Yes By The Canadian Press on May 11, 2021. The mouths of the Mackenzie River and the Liard River are shown near Fort Simpson, N.W.T., on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand FORT SIMPSON, N.W.T. – A mayor in the Northwest Territories was watching for movement in slabs of ice and snow sitting on top of one of two rivers threatening his community on Tuesday. About 700 of Fort Simpson’s 1,200 residents were forced from their homes after water levels rose dangerously on the weekend.