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DEH CHO - With fewer fires than normal the Deh Cho experienced a below average fire year, according to officials with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Thirty fires burned a total of 7,304 hectares in the Deh Cho, said Kelly Pennycook, a renewable resources officer and the incident commander on some of the major fires in the region.

The only fire in the Deh Cho region this season to damage a cabin was one 22 km from Fort Simpson. In July the fire spread from 1.5 to 50 hectares in one day. - photo courtesy of Department of Environment and Natural Resources

"We're lucky there wasn't an abundance of fires," Pennycook said.

This year's fire count of 30 closely mirrored the 32 fires recorded last year. Despite the similarities in the number of fires, there were a few differences between the two years.

Although there were fewer fires this year, approximately 3,000 more hectares were consumed.

The fire season in 2007 started earlier but the fires didn't get as large, said Pennycook.

This year the season started late with the first fire reported on June 11. In 2007 there were at least 12 fires by that time, he said.

This year there were two fire flaps - one in the middle of July and the other the second week of August - when lightning strikes in dry conditions caused multiple fires within days of each other.

Pennycook said the number of fires could have been larger as it was a fairly dry summer.

The region benefited by receiving few of the type of lightning storms with little rain known as dry lightning.

The season was unusual because none of the fires were caused by people. Usually there are one or two fires started by people at campsites, said Pennycook.

Of the 30 fires, only one damaged personal property. Fire 10, which was discovered on July 15, destroyed Roy and Jonas Mouse's cabin. Pennycook said the fire centre is working on a compensation package for the pair of trappers.

The cabin couldn't be saved because the fire was too intense, he said. The fire grew from 1.5 to 50 hectares in one day before being contained at 190 hectares.

Fire 10 was also the only fire that came close to threatening a community. The fire was 12 km east southeast of Fort Simpson and 13 km from Checkpoint.

Resources related to firefighting have been wrapped up for the season. Crews one and two from Nogha Enterprises were laid off in mid-August. The four manned fire towers in the region were closed shortly before Aug. 22.

This was the first time in at least nine years that none of the professional fire crews from the region were exported outside of the territory, said Pennycook. Some of the crews, including one of emergency firefighters, were exported within the territory to help with fires in other regions.

As of Sept. 8 there were still 12 active fires in the region. The fires are being monitored by satellite to watch for any changes.

"It was a pretty successful year for managing the forest for fires," Pennycook said.