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INUVIK
A forest fire burning out of control near the community of Inuvik has caused significant amounts of smoke within the town recently, but residents have no reason to fear an evacuation, said a spokesperson for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Pictured is the south flank of the forest fire on Saturday. At its closest point, the fire is within 12 km of the community. - photo courtesy of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources

"There is no reason for people to be alarmed. We've got a very large contingency of people here and we are taking care of the situation," Martin Callaghan, manager of forestry in the Inuvik region, told Inuvik Drum.

As of Monday, the closest finger of the fire was about 12 km northeast of Inuvik, near Noell Lake, and the fire had affected about 4,000 hectares of forest, said Callaghan. The fire was first reported on June 16 and is thought to have been caused by lightning.

On Saturday, four water bombers arrived from Norman Wells to aid in the effort to contain the blaze. They have since been working in shifts, with two planes constantly dumping water. On Monday, there were also three helicopters bringing buckets of water to the site and a contingency of 35 firefighters on standby to work on the ground as soon as conditions are safe.

"They're not on the ground at this time because of the risks associated with the fire bombers being in the air," said Callaghan.

When it was lit by lightning on June 26, the fire was 20 km northeast of town, said Judy McLinton, spokesperson for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

"A crew went out and initially attacked it that evening," she said. "A fire crew went out and continued to fight it until June 28."

At that point, the fire was considered subdued enough to call off the active response. However, strong northeasterly wind Saturday evening caused the fire to flare up again and it made a run to the southwest towards Inuvik. At that time it was within 12 km of the town.

Sunday and Monday, there were four CL-215 tanker aircraft working in two teams to fight the fire. One tanker group worked on the southwest flank of the fire to protect the town's water source, while the other worked on the southeast flank of the fire, which was creeping toward the Inuvik Gas pipeline feeding the community with natural gas and the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility.

At no point were any of these pieces of infrastructure in any real danger, said McLinton, nor was an evacuation of the community ever seriously considered.

"There is no immediate threat to Inuvik," she said Tuesday.

Heavy rain that fell Monday evening gave crews fighting the blaze some much-needed relief.

"(Monday) was a good burning day until that rain," said McLinton. "The rain helped knock it down."

As of press time, the fire was still affecting 5,000 hectares of forest but what had been tall flames were reduced to hot spots, and ground crews were able to begin patrols of the perimeter to contain the fire.

What happens with the fire from here is very much weather-dependent, said McLinton.

"We'll see how they progress," she said. "You're still above seasonal (temperatures), and everything will dry out again."

While Callaghan stresses Inuvik residents need not fear the fire reaching the community, smoke from the blaze has reached the town and could cause problems for residents with respiratory issues.

"Because of the nature of the fuels that are burning, it's a smoky fire right now," he said.

Residents with asthma or other lung issues are advised to go indoors and close their windows when the smoke is particularly thick, said Callaghan.

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