SOUTH SLAVE
All South Slave communities now have wildfire protection plans.

One of the newest plans was completed for Hay River and the Hay River Reserve earlier this year.

An overview of the plan was delivered to Hay River town council on June 6 by a representative of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR).

"This was actually one of the last ones that was done for the region," said Richard Olsen, manager of forests for the South Slave region. "It was really only completed in March of 2011. We have wildfire protection plans now done for Providence, Kakisa, Enterprise, Hay River, Fort Resolution and Fort Smith," Olsen said.

All the plans were prepared by ENR in consultation with the various communities, and created over the past four or five years.

In essence, the plans provide practical and operational strategies and tactics the communities could use to reduce the threat of wildfires and respond if one occurs.

Olsen noted the plans cover forested areas, grasslands and shrub-like areas.

In the Hay River area, he noted most of the forest is mature spruce.

"So really it's dominated by black spruce and conifer trees that have their branches all the way to the ground, very tight spacing and a fairly thick lower duff layer," he said. "So there's a lot of fuel available for these types of fires to burn."

That creates potential for high to extreme wildfire behaviour around Hay River area, especially in rural sections of the community.

Olsen noted that, from 1988 to 2009, there were 30 wildfires in the Hay River area - three caused by lightning and 27 by humans.

Olsen emphasized to Hay River council the need for a pre-attack plan, which establishes inter-agency co-operation and encourages cross training among various organizations.

"One of the first things that's going to happen if there's a wildfire threatening this community is there's going to be a lot of confusion," he said, adding that could create mistakes and a lag in response.

A pre-attack plan would increase the likelihood in a stressful situation for an appropriate response, he said.

Olsen hopes to have a draft of a pre-attack plan prepared for Hay River by the end of the summer.

"My main focus right now is finishing up one for Fort Smith so I can use that as a template for a few of the other communities," he noted.

Hay River town council is receptive to the idea of preparing a pre-attack plan.

"We look forward to working with you in the near future on developing a pre-attack plan," Deputy Mayor Mike Maher told Olsen at the end of his presentation.

The ENR representative also encouraged Hay River to establish a FireSmart Committee, which would include representatives of various organizations. Such a committee has existed in Fort Smith for several years.

Public education is also an important aspect of preparing for and preventing wildfires, Olsen said.

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