Cindy MacDougall
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Dec 03/99) - Karl Lust is almost down to his last two by four. Lust, who owns and runs Johnson's Building Supplies in Old Town, said the MacKenzie River ferry closure at Fort Providence caught him off guard.

"We're not doing very well at all," he admitted. "We're running short on lumber, insulation and paint."

Lust said he was planning to stock up on merchandise before the scheduled ferry closure later this month. The early shutdown due to low water levels ruined those plans.

"We haven't had this happen in the past six years, so we weren't as worried as past years. We weren't prepared," Lust, who has lived in Yellowknife over 40 years, said.

"It's just like the old days, but we were prepared back then."

Les Shaw, director of marine services for the Department of Transportation, said the ice jam at the mouth of the river that started the low water crisis is no longer the problem.

"The river rose about two feet, half a metre, on Saturday, so the water is finding its way around the jam," Shaw said.

"The problem is now the lake. It's 20 centimetres below normal for this time of year."

The ferry's closure two weeks ago caught most Yellowknife businesses off guard. Milk and other perishables quickly disappeared off grocery shelves last week before businesses began to fly groceries in.

Norm Case, base manager at First Air, said the airline has been hauling groceries and other supplies from Hay River for about a week.

"We've hauled over 320,000 lbs. from Hay River," Case said. "It's mostly been perishables and groceries."

Lust said he can't afford to fly his supplies in.

"Lumber and other supplies are simply too heavy," he said. "To fly a piece of lumber in, it would cost the same as the piece itself."

Other lumber stores in Yellowknife are facing a similar problem, many of them with construction contracts to fill.

Ryan Brenton, yard foreman at Beaver Lumber, said the store might have to take the hit and fly supplies in.

We're looking at chartering a freight plane," he said. "We have a job waiting for supplies."

Building supplies may be low, but Yellowknifers shouldn't worry about running out of fuel yet.

Ken Olds, market manager for ICG Propane in Yellowknife, said the company still has a "reasonable supply" of propane in its tank farm.

"We can meet customer's demands for the foreseeable future," he said.

"There's no need to panic."

He urged people to conserve fuel and use their energy wisely, in case the situation continues for longer than a few weeks.

While most fuel companies have been reluctant to discuss their supply levels, Mark Schauerte of the Department of Transportation said Yellowknife's fuel supply is not running out.

"There's quite a bit of fuel stockpiled in Yellowknife," he said. "In fact, we may have to start shipping fuel out to the communities that are running out of fuel, like Rae and Fort Providence."

Case said First Air has not flown any fuel into Yellowknife because none of the fuel distributors have requested it.

"We can haul fuel, separate from groceries and people. We just haven't been asked to yet," Case said.