THEBACHA/FORT SMITH - There have been an average number of forest fires in the NWT so far this year, but the blazes have been concentrated in two regions.

"Most of the fires have been in the North Slave and South Slave," said Daniel Allaire, acting territorial duty officer at the GNWT's Fire Centre in Fort Smith.

As of July 29, there have been 186 blazes of various sizes since the fire season began in May.

The South Slave Region has had the most fires with 96, while the North Slave has had 62.

"A lot of them are in the Caribou Range just east of Fort Smith," Allaire said.

On the other hand, the Deh Cho Region has had only six fires so far this year.

Allaire, who normally works in Fort Simpson, said six fires by this time of year in the Deh Cho has got to be a record low.

In the Norman Wells area, there have been 10 fires, while the Inuvik area has had 12.

Allaire said the South Slave and the North Slave have had more lightning and drier conditions than other regions, while the Mackenzie Valley has had a lot of rain.

Of the 186 total fires, 126 were out and 60 were still burning as of July 29.

Of the 60 active fires, five are under control, while 55 have been assessed, but no action has been taken against them because of their remote locations.

The largest fire in the NWT covered about 40,000 hectares south of Lutsel K'e, but only a small area was still burning late last week.

Allaire said there are no fires currently burning near any communities.

Plus, he is not aware of any cabins being lost to the fires.

Allaire said the fire season usually peters out around mid-August, but he is expecting more fires because of forecasted hot weather and lightning.

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