NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
A forest fire burning near the Snare hydro dam, located about 65 kilometres north of Behchoko has grown to five square kilometres and is described as out of control.
It remains about 10 kilometres from the dam, according to officials with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR). The fire was only one tenth of a square kilometre earlier in the week. A plan was being developed July 6 to manage the fire and protect any structures and infrastructure in the area.
There are no plans at this point to evacuate the hydro facility, according to Pam Coulter, spokesperson for the NWT Power Corporation (NTPC) which owns and operates the dam.
"NTPC continues to monitor the situation although there are no extra actions being taken at this time," Coulter stated in an e-mail. "Currently there is no imminent danger to any NTPC assets. Safety of staff and the public is the number one priority at NTPC and there are emergency plans in place for all its sites."
Workers at the Snare dam do live there when they are on shift. It is not clear exactly how many workers are currently there.
Meanwhile, there were three fires burning not too far from NTPC's Bluefish dam about 40 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife. One of those fires has reached 0.8 square kilometres in size and is being fought. Another smaller fire near Bluefish is under control and crews are mopping up and dealing with hot spots. The third fire is also smaller and has been deemed under control.
The North Slave region has had the attention of ENR for the past week or so as that is where the bulk of the new fires have started. Lightning is getting the blame for all the new fires across the territory.
ENR stated on its website on July 7 that 91 fires have burned so far this season across the territory. They have consumed just under 300 square kilometres. Those numbers are down dramatically from the previous two summers. Of those 91 fires, 30 have been declared out, 38 are being monitored while 23 are being fought. Seven of the fires are deemed under control and 126 are out of control, according to ENR.
There were six fires burning in the South Slave Region as of July 7. None of them were threatening any buildings, infrastructures or communities, ENR stated on its website. The fire danger remains high to extreme in the region.
Fire danger is high for most communities but low in Fort Liard. Below seasonable temperatures and showers were reported late last week. No new fires were reported in the last 24 hours.
The fire danger in the Deh Cho was high as of July 7. Only two fires were burning in the region, according to the department.
In the Sahtu region, where four fires were burning on July 7, the fire danger was extreme for Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope. The fire danger in the rest of the region was listed as low to medium. Crews were fighting one fire about 25 kilometres from Norman Wells. The rest were being monitored.
No structures have been burned so far this forest fire season in the NWT and officials want to keep it that way.
Richard Olsen, fire operation manager for the department, is pleading with the public not to light camp fires unless absolutely necessary when out on the land.
He said if people have to make a fire they should make sure it is out before leaving the area.
