ENTERPRISE
Ron Squirrel has a job that literally puts him above everything else.

Ron Squirrel of Fort Providence is the lookout person at the new fire tower that opened this spring in Enterprise. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Squirrel mans the new fire tower that opened in May in Enterprise.

His job is basically to watch over the region for fires that can be attacked at the initial stages.

"It's important that a fire is caught early when it's small so it can be put out and knocked out," he said.

Otherwise, he explained more resources and money would have to be spent on a fire if it gets bigger.

Squirrel, who comes from Fort Providence, has been working on the tower since May 25, except for a recent two-week absence because of a bad elbow.

As a lookout person, he lives in accommodations at the tower for 90 days during the forest fire season.

"Actually, I don't know the end date," he said. "It's sometime in August."

In that time, Squirrel will keep a daily routine that starts with recording the weather at about 9 a.m.

After that first of several weather recordings each day, he most likely will make his first climb up the 30.5-metre tower.

"Depending on the weather, the conditions or the fire danger, I usually can go up right away after 9 a.m.," he said.

While atop the tower, Squirrel scans the land for smoke.

"On a good clear day, I could see maybe 50 to 60 miles," he said.

His range of vision is sometimes interrupted by ridges or hills, but he will see smoke from behind those obstacles when a fire gets big enough.

The equipment he uses include a binoculars and a fire-finder.

"Basically, it's like a big compass with a map on it," he said of a fire-finder, explaining it can estimate the distance of smoke and its location.

In all, Squirrel could climb the tower several times a day until the end of his workday at 6 p.m.

Depending on conditions, such as if it is hot and dry, or if he is worried after lightning has passed over, he might go up the tower after 6 p.m.

"I usually go up and take a peek," he said.

Squirrel also keeps a record of lightning strikes.

"If a storm comes through and I see a strike, I take a rough bearing," he said, noting he jots down the time, direction and distance of the strikes. "That's for later reference in case anything comes up in two or three days."

A lookout person is not supposed to be atop a tower when lightning is too close because of the danger of it being hit.

"I have to wait until it passes and clears," explained Squirrel, who added he has never actually seen a tower hit by lightning. "But I have a few close ones, though."

Another possible danger is climbing to the top of the tower. However, the ladder is enclosed, and a tower man is secured by safety rigging and a harness when climbing.

Squirrel has no fear of heights.

However, he recalled climbing was difficult for him to begin this fire season, noting he was a bit out of shape and the new tower is slightly higher than the older ones.

"I'm aging, so I'm getting a bit of wear and tear on my body, too," said the 49-year-old.

His elbow became swollen because of the repetitive strain of climbing, and a doctor told him to take two weeks off during which he was replaced by another worker.

Squirrel said what a person would enjoy about working on a fire tower depends on an individual's personality and background.

For him, it is a chance to make some money and get away from bad influences in a community, such as drinking.

"I like the quiet and the solitude and being away," he said.

However, solitude also has its drawbacks.

"Sometimes it's lonely, especially on an isolated tower or a fly-in tower," said Squirrel. "You have no company and you're all by yourself."

However, he doesn't find it too bad at the Enterprise tower because it is just off Highway 1 and only about two kilometres south of the community.

"You've got to learn to live alone," he said. "You've got to basically be every day a kind of jack of all trades."

Squirrel said it helps that he hunted and trapped on the land with his parents when he was younger.

"I learned to live on the land," said the Deh Gah Got'ie First Nation member. "I love the land."

Squirrel - who is employed by Evergreen Forestry Management, which has the contract to operate the Enterprise fire tower - began working on fire towers in 1995 after seeing an employment opportunity with the GNWT.

"There wasn't much work around Providence, so I thought maybe I would give it a try," he said.

In the past 20 years, Squirrel has worked on fire towers for about 15 fire seasons.

The GNWT once had five such towers, but there are now two.

Aside from the tower at Enterprise, the only other remaining GNWT fire tower is Kimble Tower, north of Kakisa.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.