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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Fire crews across the Northwest Territories were busier this fire season than last, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Motorists on Highway 3 stop and stare as a fire burns near Behchoko in early September. There were 205 forest fires reported in the NWT this year. - photo courtesy of Leon Lafferty

"The fire season began earlier than usual this year because of drier and warmer-than-usual spring and early summer," said Judy McLinton, manager of public affairs and communications with the department.

There were 205 wildfires across the NWT, according to a forest management division report that tracked the fire situation in the NWT. Some 431,970 hectares of land burned in the fires.

In the North Slave region, 74 wildfires were reported for 2011, compared to 69 in 2010.

"The majority of fires were caused by lightning," McLinton said.

"However, we are seeing an increase in person-caused fire in the North Slave region. Most of these fires are caused by people who are not extinguishing their campfires when they leave their camping spot," she added.

McLinton said there were no arson-related fires this season and no "one has been arrested and prosecuted for starting a fire."

McLinton told Yellowknifer that no dollar value has been placed on the fires in the NWT as the totals haven't been tabulated yet.

When the department is not fighting fires in the NWT, it is putting its services to work elsewhere in the country.

This year, through the Canadian Interagency Mutual Aid Resources Sharing Agreement, NWT fire personnel saw duty in Alberta and Ontario.

In May, crews of 44 fire management personnel were sent to the Fort McMurray region to battle blazes in the northern section of the province.

In August, fire management personnel were called to Ontario to help battle 147 fires burning across the province.

Thirty-one members of the fire management team were also dispatched to locations northwest of Thunder Bay.

Training and learning programs are a part of the job when NWT fire crews aren't fighting fires.

One of the programs that had yielded success is the FireSmart program.

"The burn trials teach us how FireSmart principles really work, we've come to understand how better to protect homes threatened by wildfire," states fire science manager Kris Johnson on the department's www.nwtfire.com website.

"Doing a bit of maintenance around your yard makes a world of difference in a wildfire situation" he states. "It not only protects your home, but also keeps our firefighters safe."

Moving a firewood pile away from your house and keeping your yard free of debris greatly reduces the risks of damage from a wildfire.

Last year, experiments with aqueous gels were conducted at Fort Providence to see if the spread of wildfires could be mitigated through the application of the gel to "mock" buildings.

Three plywood cubes were treated with the gel and placed in a tree stand that was set alight.

After the fire was extinguished, it was found that all three structures survived temperatures of 900 C and the contents of the cubes showed no signs of duress from the fires.

According to www.nwtfire.com, a partnership between the forest management division and Western Willow Ventures could have the greatest upside in firefighting. Western Willow Ventures has produced an unmanned drone that can fly above fires and report back detailed information.

The Aerial Research Drone was used to scout escape routes and safety zones, detect spot fires outside the perimeter of the fire, document values at risk to wildlife, visually confirm the location of resources on the fireline, record and observe fire behaviour, cost effectively map fire perimeters and fire growth and document crown fraction burn.

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