NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
David and Kristen Olesen were picking up the pieces of their lives last week after a forest fire burned down their 27-year-old homestead near the Hoarfrost River on the East Arm of Great Slave Lake on Friday, July 4.

Members of the Edson Wildfire Management Area crew from Alberta work on a wildfire near Kakisa July 3. - photo courtesy of the Government of Alberta

The hand-crafted log home was fully engulfed in flames after strong easterly winds pushed Fire 7, a fire that had started by lightning near Old Fort Reliance, toward the property that Judy McLinton, the spokesperson for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said was previously believed not to be under threat.

"The fire was not threatening at the Hoarfrost," said McLinton. "What we were protecting was, there is a significant amount of spiritual and cultural sites in that area. As well, there are cabins and other values at risk south of that and they were being protected."

However, David Olesen, who has a contract to fly equipment to assist firefighters, said he and the department were aware that the homestead could come under threat from the fire.

"Having looked at this fire ever since the 18th of June when it was still east of the Lockhart River (while) flying, I was keeping tabs on it visually," he said. "I was flying fire crews into ... chimneys, the Lockhart gathering site and all the while it was clear that there is some threat to the Hoarfrost.

"We were assured of that all along. 'We are aware of the threat, we're going to address it, you're next on the list.'"

However, Olesen stopped short of saying ENR should have better protected his property, saying the 40 knot winds Friday caught everyone by surprise.

"We knew what was out there," said McLinton when asked if ENR had been aware of the homestead's location and proximity to the fire. "A call was made to tell us the fire was coming and we dispatched tankers but it was too smoky and they couldn't see the structure. As well, we dispatched a helicopter with a crew from Yellowknife but, by the time they got there, the structure was gone. It was very explosive fire behaviour."

Along with the home, two of the family's 44 sled dogs perished during the chaos.

To help the family rebuild, a trust account has been set up at Avery, Cooper and Co. Anyone wishing to donate can contact the Yellowknife-based accountant office, and reference Royal Bank of Canada account 1, 4920.

Plummer's Arctic Lodges on Great Slave Lake was under voluntary evacuation on July 10, which remained in effect as of press time Sunday. Crews were set to do a burnout in the area, McLinton said Sunday, and a fireguard has been set around the entire lodge. According to McLinton, a 102,000 hectare blaze called Fire 14 travelled over a ridge about 10 km north of the lodge last Thursday morning, prompting ENR's recommendation the lodge be evacuated.

As of 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Highway 3 was temporarily closed due to heavy smoke conditions, according to the Department of Transportation. Highway 1 and 4 remained open but the department was reporting reduced visibility due to smoke on sections of both highways.

Residents in Gameti and Wekweeti dealt with heavy smoke billowing from fires near their communities last week.

In Gameti, a 51,000 hectare fire, Fire 37, was about 6 km south of the community at its closest point, said McLinton. Last Monday, firefighters conducted a burnout on the fire - which could be seen on the far side of the lake from the community - to prevent it from burning any closer to the community. That burnout was successful and crews were mopping up the area late last week.

"There is no longer a threat to the community, however the fire is still burning in the area so smoke still could be an issue," said McLinton.

Two fires - 8,138 hectare Fire 26 and 9,460 hectare Fire 42 - were burning near Wekweeti last week. At its closest point, one of the fires was burning 7.5 km south of the community. However, similar to in Gameti, the fire was on the far side of a lake, said McLinton. Firefighters conduced a burnout to protect the community late last week. As of Sunday, McLinton said there is no threat to the community, though conditions remain smoky.

In Whati, a complex of fires covering 27,104 km billowed smoke into the community on and off throughout the week last week.

Crew sent to Bluefish

On Saturday a crew was sent into Bluefish where they mopped-up a fire that was burning "so deep underground that it popped up again," said McLinton.

The weather forecast is not calling for rain in the North or South Slave - the regions that have so far been most affected - for at least the next 10 days.

"We are in an extreme drought," said McLinton. "We haven't seen drought like this for about 30 years.

"To put it in perspective, it would take at least two inches of rain to make a difference in any of those fires."

Up against one of the worst fire seasons in the territory's recorded history are 29 five-person Type 1 firefighter crews from the NWT, as well as roughly 100 emergency firefighters trained this past spring. About 80 to 100 firefighters from Nova Scotia, Ontario, Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan have helped out. As well, firefighters from Alaska have been brought in to help bring the Reid Lake fire near Yellowknife under control.

"I imagine pretty soon people will be starting to get tired, but the morale is still positive," said McLinton.

As of July 11, 172 forest fires had been set in the territory since the spring, equivalent to 8,420 square kilometres which is one-and-a-half times the size of PEI.

• with files from Simon Whitehouse

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