SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A forest fire burning out of control near Wha Ti is threatening the city's power supply.

The 54,000-hectare fire was sparked by lightning and was reported to officials on July 17. The blaze had closed to within nine kilometres of the Snare Hydro power facility by Tuesday.

North Douglas stands near a supply of water delivered by his relatives while he waits for an evacuation notice for the people of Edzo. - Ben Morgan/NNSL photo

Vaughn Slade, communications and customer service coordinator for NWT Power Corporation, said that if the Snare facility needed to be evacuated the diesel generators at Jack Fish Lake power plant would be turned on to power the city.

But he said no order to evacuate had been issued yet.

Judy McLinton, fire information officer for Environment and Natural Resources said fire crews were working to protect the power plant.

"We are working to protect those values at risk, that includes the Snare facility," she said.

On Tuesday afternoon, McLinton said the wind was blowing the blaze away from the power plant but warned that the wind could change direction.

"That's why we're laying down the fire retardant lines," said McLinton.

Fire crews are also on the ground spraying the area with water to help protect the power plant from encroachment of the fire.

Another forest fire burning out of control near Behchoko has residents of Edzo prepared to evacuate their homes. Resident North Douglas said the news came down on Sunday.

"About two weeks ago it got really serious," said Douglas.

He told his mother to leave the area because of the smoke - she has asthma - but he's staying behind to watch over her home.

Douglas, who used to be a firefighter, said if the fire reaches the community he's prepared to stay behind and volunteer to fight the blaze.

The fire began on June 21 in a marshy area near Mosquito Creek, 35 kilometres away from Edzo, and has grown in size and veracity over the past month.

The forest fire is now 34,000 hectares and burning only six kilometres south of the community.

Incident commander Frank Lapine said strong winds caused the fire to jump across Highway 3 near North Arm Territorial Park on Saturday, heavy smoke from the fire forced the closure of the road.

"It took a good run, and then on Sunday it turned toward Edzo," he said. "That's why we decided to get the residents prepared to evacuate."

Edzo fire plan chief Lawrence Lewis said strong gusty winds last week helped the blaze gain a lot of ground, leaping from tree top to tree top at times.

At a press conference on Monday Lewis said the fire moved 12 kilometres in a single day.

"We haven't lost a single structure or had a single injury or fatality," said Lewis. "That's the good news."

"Our first priority is human life," he said. "That includes firefighters and we don't want to get them into a situation where their safety is compromised."

Officials have been holding community meetings in Edzo to keep people informed of the situation so they can be prepared in any eventuality.

"Mother Nature can be unpredictable at times but we hope that we make good progress today," said Lewis.

McLinton said yesterday that the closest the fire had burned towards Edzo was five kilometres away.

"What fire crews did yesterday was a burning off from the Edzo airport down to Mosquito Creek and that ignition was successful," she said.

A burning off is a wildfire suppression operation where a fire is deliberately set to consume fuel inside the perimeter of the blaze.

McLinton said the next move for fire crews was to remove all the wood and other fuels from the fire's path along the highway.