Yellowknife (May 05/06) - Forest fire fighters are ready for the season, but if early indicators are accurate, it should be a quiet spring in the North Slave.

"The early indications are that our ground is going to be fairly saturated (with water)," said Lance Schmidt, the manager of forests for the North Slave region for Environment and Natural Resources.

"That is really our only indication for the season that it should be fairly slow," Schmidt said of the forest fire season, which officially began May 1 and ends at the end of September.

To determine soil saturation, Schmidt said a sample is taken by resource officers and is then dried.

The amount of moisture in the soil can then be measured.

After May 1, permits to burn clear brush and the like will be required, he noted.

If the weather turns dry two or three weeks earlier than normal, however, Schmidt said the tide could turn and the fire risk could elevate.

"All it takes is one bad fire in the wrong place and it turns it into a fire season," Schmidt noted.

Firefighters will be kept busy if a fire breaks out in a highly valued area or if multiple fires occur at the same time.

It is important to be aware that even though snow may still cover the ground, campfires should be thoroughly out, he said.

"Even though there is snow on the ground, (fires) can be in the wrong place and be very persistent.

"We've even had fires in the wintertime that we have to pay attention to until all the snow melts," Schmidt said.

A fire on Jennejohn Lake a few years ago was burning throughout the entire winter, he said.

"They smoulder underground where it's fairly dry."

By the end of October last year, 261 fires were declared out for the season.

While there are no fires burning near Yellowknife, air crews with Buffalo Airways are already fighting forest fires. They were sent to northern Alberta late last month to fight a blaze near Slave Lake.