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Blazes ignite in Deh Cho Twenty-seven forest fires started in region as of June 25, largest fire burns 25 kilometres south of Wrigley
Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, June 27, 2013
DEH CHO
Hot and dry conditions are fueling forest fires across the Deh Cho.
A 10,000-hectare fire 25 kilometres south of Wrigley is the largest of 23 fires that were burning in the Deh Cho as of June 25. Hot and dry conditions along with lightning are fueling forest fires in the region. - photo courtesy of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
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As of June 25, the region, which does not include Kakisa or Fort Providence, had had 27 fires to date this season, 26 of which started in the past two-and-a-half weeks including 11 on June 24 alone, said Carl Lafferty, the regional superintendent of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR).
The largest fire, at approximately 10,000 hectares, is 25 kilometres south of Wrigley.
"That's a fairly big fire," said Lafferty.
The fire isn't threatening the community, but could become a concern in the future, he said. The fire began the weekend of June 15 and 16 as a result of a lightning strike in the McConnell range.
Because it was on a mountain range, the fire couldn't be fought immediately. The fire was first addressed on June 20. An incident command team from the department has been dedicated to the fire and based in Wrigley.
Approximately 30 people, including the team, are working directly on the fire, said Lafferty.
An additional 20 firefighters from B.C., requested from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, were expected to join them on June 25.
On June 23, the crews at the fire did some back burning to eliminate some of the fuel between the fire and Wrigley and help protect the community, said Lafferty.
The incident command team has created a number of plans to keep the community safe depending on how the fire progresses, he said.
There was some concern amongst community members about the fire on June 21 and 22, said D'Arcy J. Moses, Pehdzeh Ki First Nation's interim senior administrative officer.
On those two days, a very large cloud of smoke that was mushroom shaped could be seen from the community.
"It looked very big," he said.
It also smelled like smoke in the community, particularly on June 22. Since then, the wind has changed direction and the smoke can't been seen anymore, said Moses on June 24.
Kris Johnson, the incident commander with ENR, also met with Moses and Elsie Hardisty, the acting chief, to explain the action that is being taken.
He said they are optimistic about controlling the fire and were also expecting rain on the night of June 24, said Moses.
The department is definitely working to keep the community informed, he said. Moses said the weather in Wrigley has been very hot and dry.
Similar conditions have also been keeping the department very busy elsewhere in the Deh Cho.
On June 23, six forest fires were discovered near Trout River.
The department used four Air Tractor AT802F Fire Boss planes on loan from Slave Lake, Alta., to suppress the fires.
Although the planes, which use floats, are small, but together they can move a lot of water, Lafferty said.
Fire crews were sent to the fires on June 24 and by the following day, five of the fires were out or being held while one was still being worked on. An additional 20 firefighters from B.C. were being sent to assist on that fire.
Across the Deh Cho, the department is using crews from the region as well as Deline, Fort Providence and Hay River.
An Electra, a large tanker that drops fire retardant, was also being sent to Fort Simpson on June 25 to be used in the initial attacks on new fires.
On June 23, four fires also started approximately 40 kilometres northeast of Fort Liard. Three of the fires were being worked on as of press deadline.
On June 24, an additional four fires were found ranging in distance from 15 to 20 kilometres from the community.
All of those four fires were also being actioned.
A column of smoke from another fire could be seen across the Mackenzie River from Fort Simpson on June 23.
That fire is being monitored, but not worked on because there are so many other fires to address and nothing of value, such as cabins, is currently at risk, said Lafferty.
Lafferty said forest fires are not always a bad thing and act to rejuvenate the forest.
The fires are being worked on because they are too close to communities or because they could still burn through July and August.
"It's too early in the season to let these things go," he said.
The department hasn't been faced with heatwave conditions like this since 1995, said Lafferty.
The department has stopped issuing burning permits and is asking people to take more precautions than normal when starting and putting out fires.
Only one fire in the region so far this season was potentially human-caused, Lafferty said.
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