LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - The 18 forest fires burning in the Nahanni National Park Reserve have given one person the opportunity to visit her hometown.

Tanya Letcher is a fire management co-ordinator with Parks Canada. Although she works out of the Western and Northern Canada Service Centre in Calgary, her hometown is Fort Simpson.

Tanya Letcher, a fire management co-ordinator with Parks Canada, stands with the fire status map that pinpoints all of the fires in the Nahanni National Park Reserve. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Letcher returned to the village on July 31 to act as the incident commander, taking on the overall responsibility for and management of the fires in the park.

"I was very excited about the opportunity," she said.

Letcher said she's had the chance to see more of the park during the monitoring flights to check the fires. Her role also includes monitoring the weather to gauge what is coming and developing strategies and tactics to use on the fires.

With the expansion of the boundaries it's an exciting time to be involved in the park, said Letcher. The park's increased size and location provide an opportunity for research. Because there are few people in the area and no properties to lose, the fires can be left to burn and observations can be made, she said.

"There's still a lot we can learn from watching fire," said Letcher.

Information can by gathered for the larger fire management community by examining how the fires in the park react to the terrain and different fuel types, she said.

Although she's been a fire management co-ordinator for two years Letcher didn't set out to work with fire.

The daughter of Minnie and Frank Letcher, she grew up in Fort Simpson and completed high school in Yellowknife. After Letcher finished the Renewable Resources Technology Program at Aurora College in Fort Smith, Carl Lafferty, who was working with Parks Canada at the time, asked her if she'd ever considered joining the organization.

Letcher joined Parks Canada in January 1995 and hasn't looked back. She spent her first eight years at Wood Buffalo National Park, first as a general operations warden and then with the fire management program. In the fall of 2003 she moved to Calgary for a position as a fire management officer.

Now as a fire management co-ordinator Letcher assists parks across Canada. If a park needs support managing a fire Letcher helps them get what they need including personnel, aircraft and equipment.

"I like that you're never quite sure what you're going to get each day," she said.

There's a lot a variability because there are parks spread across the country, said Letcher. Staff try to keep tabs on the weather and fire danger ratings but they're always changing.

"You have to be adaptable and flexible," she said.

Working with Parks Canada opens up a lot of career choices, she added.

"There's some really amazing opportunities to see and do things in the name of science and protection," said Letcher.