Tsiigehtchic chief not happy with response
Dane Gibson
Northern News Services
NNSL (Aug 16/99) - As smoke chokes the air around the community of Tsiigehtchic, the townspeople are asking why something wasn't done sooner to bring a fire that has been burning for two months under control.
The forest fire was started by lightning. Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development's manager of fire operations Dennis Mahussier admitted that they decided at that time "not to throw millions of dollars into fighting it."
It's now out of control. Tsiigehtchic Chief Grace Blake said the 150,000 hectares that have burned to date is within the Gwich'in land claim settlement area.
"The fire started around the middle of June and from day one, people from here wanted that fire put out. The government's response is something that stood out in my mind," Blake said.
"It's a response that shows still today, people don't understand how attached we are to the land. Our people are grieving. When something like this happens to the land, we grieve."
She said since the fire began, the government's idea of "consultation" and the Gwich'in's is something very different. Fire operations are being managed out of Fort Smith.
"The government is an entity unto themselves. The power is in their hands, but this says to me they have to break out of that pattern. They have to come into the communities, get to know the people and how we feel about the land," Blake said.
"Our people have been saying they fought fires in the past with less technology. They put them out because they moved immediately."
Smoke from the fire is a problem right now, Blake said, but added the community appears to be relatively safe.
"Right at the moment, people know renewable resources and community members are out there working on fire breaks. They're connecting the lakes to ward off the fire from coming towards Tsiigehtchic and for that we're grateful," Blake said.
"At the same time, people have mixed emotions -- from the grief they feel that the country is burning to disappointment that more effort wasn't put into stopping it right at the beginning."
