British Columbia
Firefighters from three regions of the Northwest Territories are in British Columbia to help battle a forest fire there.

The Deh Cho 1 firefighting crew from Fort Simpson was one of eight NWT crews sent to a fight fire in British Columbia this month. They are, from left, Vincent Hardisty, who was replaced by Henry Lafferty (not pictured), Ernest Tetso, Thomas Edda, Brent Squirrel, and crew leader Conrad Cazon. - photo courtesy of NWT Department of Environment and natural Resources

A total of 49 personnel departed for the province from Aug. 13 to 23, where they will join fellow forest firefighters from other provinces to battle B.C.'s biggest blazes, said Frank Lepine of the territory's forest management division.

"They have 400 firefighters in B.C. from out of the province right now," Lepine told News/North last Wednesday.

Among them are 40 firefighting personnel from the NWT, he said, who are working at the frontlines of the province's largest fire - located at Fraser Lake, almost 200 km west of Prince George. Another four NWT staff at the site are working in a command capacity.

"It's a really large fire that they're on," Lepine said from his office in Fort Smith, where he serves as territorial duty officer for the Forest Management Division of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

"The fire's about 30 kilometres long by about 10 kilometres wide."

Four other personnel were sent to Williams Lake, located about 300 km south of Prince George, and one more to Kamloops. These personnel are all high-level staff, Lepine said, and involved in directing operations against other large blazes.

The crews sent were to work in B.C. for a total of two weeks - so all are expected to be back in the territory by the end of next week. Lepine confirmed they were sent from the North Slave, South Slave and Deh Cho regions.

"We have fire contracts with different First Nations throughout the North," Lepine said. Most of the staff sent are contractors, he said, and the rest are all government personnel.

B.C.'s request for help from the territory and other provinces was made through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. The territory's fire hazard has been low to moderate in recent weeks, Lepine said, which allowed the territory's fire operations centre to respond quickly.

"We've had some nice weather here and there, but then a lot of rain moving in and out," Lepine said of recent NWT weather conditions. "It would take a few dry days to really dry things out, and get a good fire going in most areas of the North right now."

The territory's wildfire season is in its final stages for the year, officially ending Sept. 30, he added.

"Our weather's turning to fall," said Lepine, meaning longer nights and dew in the morning, which decreases the risk of fires.

Risks are usually elevated earlier in the summer, and the territory would not normally be able to answer calls for help at such times, Lepine said.

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