Ben Morgan
Northern News Services
Published Friday, July 25, 2008

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A number of forest fires burning around the NWT continue to create a haze of ash over the skies of Yellowknife.

Judy McLinton of Environment and Natural Resources said the fire that threatened the community of Behchoko is still burning near Edzo but she said the situation had improved.

"It took a run down the west side of Marian Lake, on a peninsula that we had planned on doing a burning off on anyway" said McLinton.

"So that puts it on the other side of the lake and that minimizes the risk to the community."

But ENR said it will still be smoky for some time along the highway.

McLinton said the fire has so far burned around 36,000 hectares.

She explained that the plan was to mop up areas that were close to Edzo - a little more than 100km from Yellowknife. That means fire crews will inspect the area and put out hot spots and make the sure the fire is out.

Meanwhile, a blaze burning near Whati and threatening the Snare Hydro facility that supplies electricity to Yellowknife, has moved past the power plant and is now burning about five kilometers north of the main station.

On Wednesday night the fire received some rain on its eastern flank.

"That slowed it down," said McLinton.

She said the fire covers around 35,000 hectares.

"They have laid down all the fire retardant lines around the Snare Hydro facility," she said.

McLinton said firefighters might be able to do some burn-off operations along the Snare River by Saturday, if the conditions were right.

"They made good progress protecting the values at risk, primarily the Snare facility," she explained.

Vaughn Slade, communications and customer service coordinator for NWT Power Corporation, said its business as usual at the Snare power facility.

"Unless we hear something different from ENR, we're running normal operations," said Slade.

McLinton said the heavy smoke that appeared in Yellowknife on Wednesday morning was blown in from two forest fires burning to the south of the city.

"One fire is near Lonely Point on a point of land on the North Arm," she said.

"It doesn't threaten anything," she said.

The other fire is 80km south of Hay River near Sandy Lake. That fire began on Saturday after a lightening strike.

Dr. André Corriveau, chief medical health officer for the Department of Health and Social Services, said it's best to stay indoors and close the windows on days when smoke is heavy in the air.

"The smoke is not just a gas floating in the air that is colored brown, it's actually tiny particulates that get into your lungs and it causes irritation of the tissue," he said.

Corriveau said the smoke can irritate the eyes as well as the lungs.

He said this does not make for a good day to take a long run, even for healthy people, as runners would be breathing in smoke more deeply.

"We tell people to restrict their activities," he said.

Corriveau said people who have asthma and other respiratory illnesses would be most irritated by the smoke in the air.

"Some people have learned to managed but it's good to get that message out to newcomers to Yellowknife too," he said.

McLinton said the fire near Sandy Lake was burning around 12,000 hectares.

"Fire crews put a line in there with a bulldozer and they're hoping to do a burn out if the conditions are right," said McLinton.

She said smoke from the fire might blow across Highway 5 causing problems for motorists traveling between Hay River and Fort Smith.

Smoke from the fire is now blowing toward Fort Resolution.