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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Forest firefighters in the North Slave region had a slightly busier season than average, but the real difference is the time of year the fires sparked up, says a veteran forest manager with ENR.

According to Roger Fraser, North Slave region manager of forests with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the summer fire season in 2012 saw 59 forest fires in the North Slave Region. This is a zone spanning from Birch Lake in the southwest, to Great Bear Lake in the northwest, to the treeline in the north-northeast, to Lutsel K'e in the southeast and is bordered by the north shore of Great Slave Lake on the south.

Typical years see the Department of Environment and Natural Resources fire division monitor between 40 and 50 fires in the North Slave, said Fraser. Some years, this number can reach as high as 100.

"The number of fires we've had over the year is sort of average," he said. "What is not normal is the time of year we started getting fires, especially lightning fires."

Fraser, who has 18 years experience fighting forest fires with ENR, said he normally starts to see lightning fires in late June or early July. This year, there were six fires caused by lightning in May alone.

The forest fire division tracks lightning strikes in the territory throughout the summer. Normally, when lightning hits the ground in the spring, there is too much moisture to start a major fire, said Fraser. This spring, warm temperatures caused a fast snow melt, where water ran over the frozen ground beneath instead of sinking into thawing earth, he said.

During a typical spring, crews assemble for training after the May long weekend and then run scenarios for a few weeks until the fire season heats up, said Fraser. This year, the seven five-person crews, two water bombers and one helicopter tasked with protecting the North Slave Region were busy as soon as they were finished their pre-season training.

"Right away they were flat-out fighting fires, but we were ready. We have really well-trained and professional firefighters," said Fraser.

This year's forest fire season in the North Slave also saw some fires that burned for an unusually long time, he said.

"Usually, we get a fire and we fight it and we get help from Mother Nature with some rain," he said. "There wasn't very much rain this year, it was really dry, especially at the beginning of the season."

An example of these unusual hurdles for forest fire fighters this year is the so-called Fire 2 that burned for most of the summer. At its closest point, the fire was 15 km southwest of Behchoko and 20 km north of Highway 3, said Fraser. The fire started on May 31 by a lightning strike and continued to burn until Sept. 20, affecting a total of 19,877 hectares.

"The only thing that saved us there is we did get a little bit of rain that knocked it down for a while," said Fraser.

However, the rain was never heavy enough to put the fire out entirely. It burned until basically the end of the fire season, when dew and lower temperatures suppressed it, he said. Also, wind blew the fire and accompanying smoke away from the highway, preventing a road closure.

Throughout the summer, Fraser mans the control centre in Yellowknife, monitoring everything from current fires to what assets might come under threat, to resources available, to lightning strikes and weather. For him, the decision about whether a fire should be fought, and if so how it should be fought, is a constant juggling act.

"Every fire gets a response. So, every fire we go to, whether we fight it or not is a different story," he said. "There's a lot of things to consider when you're making those decisions."

Fact file

Forest fires in the north slave region

Notable forest fires for the 2012 season:

Fire 2

15 km south of Behchoko

Started by lightning on May 31. Put out on Sept.20.

Hectares burned: 19,877

Fire 4

3 km south of Ghameti

Started by lightning on May 31. Put out on July 6th.

Hectares burned: 1,700

Fire 12

About 6 km south of Whati

Man-caused fire lit on June 14. Put out on Aug 30.

Hectares burned: 10

Fire 40

17 km south of Whati

Lightning caused fire on July 15. Out on Aug 30.

Hectares burned: 1,150

Source: Department of Environment and Natural Resources

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