Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Fort Good Hope (July 30/01) - A heat wave followed by thunderstorms early last week is the cause of several forest fires continuing to burn throughout the Sahtu region.

According to Jamie Chambers, fire duty officer for the Sahtu, nine fires broke out over the previous weekend, turning an otherwise slow season into a bustle of activity.

"It's been a little slow and quiet, but it picked up over the last week," Chambers said last Thursday.

There have been 26 forest fires reported in the Sahtu region to date.

One fire, burning about 30 kilometres northeast of Fort Good Hope, was spotted Monday. Chambers said it's a small fire -- 15 hectares --and now appears to be under control.

"The water bombers were used on Monday and Tuesday," said Chambers. "It was a pretty successful operation."

In addition to the water bombers, three helicopters were in the area "bucketing" the blaze with water, and moving in personnel and equipment.

Four firefighting crews were also on hand: one from Norman Wells, another from Deline, and two from Fort Good Hope.

A couple of larger fires remain burning in the Sahtu, but Chambers said they are all either under control or far enough from other communities as to not pose a threat to life and property.

"One we're just going to monitor and let it run its natural course," said Chambers, referring to a 4000 hectare fire

burning nearly 200 kilometres west of Fort Good Hope.

Another fire, approximately 12,000 hectares in size and burning along Stewart Lake south of Tulita, is now under control Chambers said.

Firefighting efforts in the Sahtu region have also been aided by a recent spate of cooler temperatures and rain.