Darren Campbell
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jul 22/98) - Forest fires aren't threatening the city, but the three cabins on Tibbitt Lake weren't so lucky.

The cabins were destroyed by the 60,000- hectare fire Sunday. The fire, which started just east of the lake, was about 45 kilometres east of Yellowknife Tuesday and still considered out of control.

Beatrice Lepine, manager of forest development for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, said the other 10 cabins on Tibbitt are intact. She said smoke has made it impossible to judge the value of the damage to the cabins.

Heavy smoke that caused Yellowknife Airport to close Saturday and grounded water tankers and helicopters could not fly.

But with 50 people now on the ground, a control line cleared between the south end of Hidden Lake and the Ingraham Trail is holding and crews are working on a second control line north of Hidden.

As of Tuesday evening, the fire was just west of Hidden Lake. "There is no immediate threat to the city of Yellowknife," said Lepine. Prelude and Pontoon lakes are also in no immediate danger.

But Margaret Peterson, owner of Prelude Lake Lodge, has seen her business affected by the fire.

She said guests staying at the nine cabins she rents out were gone by midnight Saturday. They left voluntarily. "Basically we were out of business," said Peterson.

She isn't the only one worrying. "A lot of guys are doing their best to protect our places before we give up," said Francois Rossouw, who has lived at Pontoon Lake since 1990.

He said there are 17 cabins at the lake and estimated 16 of them would be threatened if the fire gets close.

However, because his cabin faces the highway and rocks on one side and the lake on the other, he would not be in trouble.

Rossouw, a material manager for the Department of Resources, said residents there are getting their water pumps and hoses ready, cutting down trees around their homes and packing away some of their valuables.

He said when the smoke was at its worse on Saturday, those living at the lake were pretty worried about their homes.

"Saturday was a lousy day. A bit of hype was created," said Rossouw. "I was sick at home that day and I must have got 20 calls from people asking, 'Should we go?'"

Walter Bonnetrouge, a fire crew member from Fort Providence, worked from 10 a.m Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday on the fire. He said his five-man crew isn't bothered by the long hours, but they have faced one problem on the land.

"We're doing OK. It's kind of quiet now," said Bonnetrouge. "The biggest problem is the smoke."

The Ingraham Trail is still closed beyond Powder Point. The Yellowknife fire department also ordered a complete burning ban for the city on Sunday.

Lepine said the weather forecast for the next few days is not the best. She said it is supposed to be warm and dry for several days, and what would really help put out the fire is "a significant amount of rain."