INUVIK - A wildfire located about 35 kilometres outside of Inuvik which had been burning since last Monday morning was officially declared contained on Friday, said Judy McLinton, public affairs and communications officer for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

"Crews are now continuing the mop-up, and the fire is under control," she said.

McLinton added that cool, wet weather conditions, which were being forecast for the weekend, would likely assist in putting the fire out.

The 128-hectare blaze was believed to have been ignited from an abandoned campfire, McLinton said.

"The (fire) conditions around Inuvik when the fire started were actually moderate, but this fire is a prime example of how fast things can get out of control in the dry weather conditions we have had so far this year," she added.

A total of 35 crew members, which included one tanker crew and two helicopters, were sent to the region to battle the fire, McLinton said.

"By Thursday, the fire was more or less contained and crews were doing mop-up. The downturn in weather conditions really helped," she said.

McLinton reported as of Thursday that fire conditions are still high to extreme in southern regions of the NWT, particularly in the North Slave and South Slave regions, as well as in a number of areas in the Sahtu.

"We are advising people to use extreme caution and be very careful about setting campfires," McLinton said.

She also warned that the risk of fire in the territories is forecasted to be very high because of the unusually dry weather conditions that are continuing across the North.

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