ENR talks forest-fire fighting
Department takes media on tour of Reid Lake fire and Old Town operations centre following criticism of its actions
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Friday, July 29, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has enough resources to fight forest fires. So says Frank Lepine, director of forest management for the department.
This photo, taken from a chopper belonging to Great Slave Helicopters, shows another chopper as it flies over land and trees scored by a forest fire this summer along the Ingraham Trail. The photo was taken near Namushka Lodge, which was destroyed by a forest fire on July 15. - John McFadden/NNSL photo |
His statement came at the end of a media field trip where journalists were given a helicopter tour of the Reid Lake fire, still burning about 50 kilometres east of Yellowknife, and a briefing on the department's satellite technology systems.
"We have 150 firefighters and probably 75 to 100 staff who participate one way or another," said Lepine. "It's not really the financial end of getting resources that's really important - it's having resources available. If they are not available in the NWT then we go national. We try to get people as close to us as we can."
He said the fires that destroyed three lodges in the last two years were out of control, wind-aided fires that no number of firefighters and water bombers could have extinguished or even controlled. Lepine pointed out that no lives have been lost in the territory in forest fires in recent years, something they are very proud of.
"In our business the biggest value at risk is our firefighters. We're not going to put them in a position where they are going to be harmed. That's our number-one priority," Lepine said. "We have to gauge these things. We look at fire behaviour. How's that fire going to behave today? - what are the capabilities of being on a fire like that?"
Yesterday's media day comes after a rough couple of weeks for The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) and its firefighting staff. Namushka Lodge on Harding Lake, about 50 kilometres east of Yellowknife, was lost to a wildfire on July 15. The Chorostkowski family of Yellowknife, owners of the lodge, have taken ENR managers to task on social media, complaining that officials gave them next to no warning that the fire was right on their doorstep.
Also, a report was published last week showing that mistakes were made in the summer of 2014 in the handling of a fire that destroyed the Hoarfrost Lodge, a homestead on the East Arm of Great Slave lake owned by the Olesen family.
Richard Olsen, manager of fire operations for ENR, said he is unable to talk about the communication with the Chorostkowski family prior to the lodge fire until a report by an Edmonton-based consulting firm is completed - likely in a couple of weeks.
In terms of the Hoarfrost Lodge fire, Olsen said that it was not that their satellite imagery was out of date, it was that the interpretation of it was not exact. He pointed out satellite images do not show the fire itself, so ENR has to rely on the data they have and the best analysis and predictions they can make on exactly how a given fire is going to behave.
"Getting real-time information is very, very difficult. The information that was provided was not immediate and accurate, so it can really only be relied upon to the extent that it was last reported," Olsen said. "There could be a time period where actually nothing was reported in the area where it appears that nothing was happening when in fact something was."
ENR uses satellite imagery provided by the U.S. Forestry Service. Olsen said it is just one of the tools at their disposal. They also have extensive data bases showing things like previous forest fires, topography, drought conditions and where the values at risk are. Those values in this area are mainly cabins. Olsen said they want cabin owners to provide them with as much information as possible about their property. He added if someone has erected a cabin illegally and has squatted and not reported their cabin's location to them, then they have few, if any, ways of knowing that the structure is even there.
Both Lepine and Olsen believe their front-line firefighters are doing excellent work.
Indeed, when Yellowknifer flew over the Ingraham Trail, it was noticed that fires had crept very close to dozens of cabins and year-round homes - but none of them had been burned. Both officials stressed however that as hard as crews work to protect people's property, the owners themselves have to do what they can to help. That includes FireSmarting their property, possibly building a fire break if they can and making sure that they are very careful with their own fires.
The fire that consumed Namushka Lodge is believed to have been caused by humans.
It is also thought that it began at a cabin on Pickerel Lake, about 15 kilometres from Namushka Lodge. Olsen said the speed with which it moved - 15 to 20 kilometres in just 24 hours, should paint a picture for the public of just how quickly it travelled and how hot it burned.
