Firefighters with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources used these controlled burns to help protect the Taltson River hydroelectric generating plant from a nearby forest fire. The precautionary measures created a perimeter that an uncontrolled fire could not cross. - photo courtesy of Northwest Territories Power Corporation |
Forest fire destroys Hoarfrost River home
Residents return to Kakisa; hydro restored to South Slave as residence near Reliance burns and North Slave highways close
Simon Whitehouse and Laura Busch
Northern News Services
Published Monday, July 7, 2014
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The house of a popular wilderness adventure company at the mouth of the Hoarfrost River in the East Arm of Great Slave Lake was destroyed after forest fires in the area burned out of control overnight.
The three-storey house belonging to Kristen and Dave Olesen of Hoarfrost River Huskies burned to the ground and, according to eyewitness Libby Whitthall Catling, exploded, likely due to propane tanks, while the owner watched helplessly nearby.
Catling and her husband, who live on Fairchild Point in Fort Reliance, battled waves and high winds to get to the scene of the fire. Catling wondered why all the sprinkler systems and firefighters were at the traditional gathering grounds at the mouth of the Lockhart River where no one lives.
Dawn Curtis, a spokesperson with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said the fire, which is now 31,000 ha fire about 100 km east of Lutsel K'e, was believed by the department to be far enough away from the Hoarfrost River on Friday. However with severe winds reaching 60 km/hr to 80 km/hr overnight Friday, the fire was unexpectedly pushed toward the area, she said.
"It wasn't anticipated that sparks from that fire were going to reach Hoarfrost River but when those winds came up, they did," said Curtis. "That is why there hadn't been a sprinkler on that cabin (the Olesen house) but the rest of the ones on the other side of the Fairchild Peninsula did have them. That was the only residence that was destroyed, but firefighters were able to save all the other cabins."
Curtis did not know how many cabins were in the area, but she added they are now not threatened by fires. Visibility made responding to the fire very difficult as water bombers could not access the area because of smoke, she said.
"There was a lot of smoke so there was restrictive visibility so tankers were dispatched but weren't able to access the fire," she said. "The ground crews did get in and were able to save the rest of the cabins but not the house."
Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) spokesperson Judy McLinton said this is shaping up to be one of the worst forest fire seasons she has ever seen, with 130 fires reported as of Friday.
"Normally, we'd have about 90 fires at this time in the season," she said.
After a tense stand-off with a 60,000 hectare blaze that threatened the community of Kakisa, the fire had rescinded enough for residents to begin returning July 5, said Dawn Curtis with ENR.
A voluntary evacuation had been in place since June 27 and on July 1, all remaining residents were asked to leave.
As of Saturday, the Kakisa access road was open only to residents as firefighters continued to work on the wildfire.
Curtis said fire crews fought the blaze with helicopters, water bombers and cat guards, and that a burnout line had been created along the access road to stop the fire from spreading into the hamlet. Sprinklers were also set up around buildings as a fire deterrent.
No structures were lost as a result of the fire, she said.
Residents were asked to stay away from cabins up the Ingraham Trail near Yellowknife over the past weekend as a precautionary measure against a wildfire burning about 11 km east of the highway.
Highway 4 was closed as of midnight Saturday at kilometre 37 near Power Point, and re-opened at noon on Sunday.
"The decision to close the highway ... is not about highway conditions. It's about keeping people away from an area where there is a forest fire," said Patricia Russell with the Department of Transportation.
The fire, which was started by lighting June 16 near Consolation Lake, had grown to 35,000 hectares as of Saturday.
"Hot, dry conditions and winds through the night (Friday) pushed the fire west toward Reid Lake," said Curtis, noting that the fire was about 8.5 km from Reid Lake Campground on Saturday afternoon.
Although some rain fell in the area overnight Friday, it had little effect on the fires, she said.
No property damage had occurred due to this blaze at press time, said McLinton.
ENR planned to begin operations to secure the southern flank of the fire on Sunday.
Fire crews were still working on putting out hotspots near the Taltson Dam hydro facility over the weekend, said Curtis.
Power generation at the dam site had been shut down June 29 because of a forest fire in the area of the plant and its transmission lines about 64 km north of Fort Smith.
As a result, Fort Smith, Fort Resolution and Hay River relied on diesel generation until power once again started flowing from the hydroelectric generating facility on the evening of July 3.
The plant itself was brought back online July 2.
"We expect (firefighting) operations to be complete by Sunday night and equipment removed on Monday," said Curtis.
A complex of fires that have been raging between Behchoko and Fort Providence closed Highway 3 last week. However, the highway remained open at press time.
This could change on short notice, said Curtis, cautioning motorists to check the status of the highway with the Department of Transportation before travelling.
"There could be issues of smoke and people should be mindful of just how dry it is in most areas," she said.
The smoke is a result of three separate fires burning in the area of Birch Creek, which covered area of 500-square kilometres - roughly one-tenth the size of Prince Edward Island - as of July 3.
Dr. Andre Corriveau, the NWT's chief public health officer, advised residents with respiratory and heart problems dealing with smoke in their community to stay indoors and keep the windows closed if possible.
"People with those conditions should not exert themselves and young children should also not spend too much time outside when it's smoky," he said.
- with files from Paul Bickford and John McFadden
