SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A citywide fire ban could be in place by as early as tomorrow if extreme dry conditions continue.

The city has put an extreme fire danger rating in place in Yellowknife, and if these conditions persist through the weekend, it could spell a ban on outdoor fires. - Elaine Anselmi/NNSL photo

A ban is put in place within city limits after six straight days of an extreme fire hazard rating, said Dennis Marchiori, director of public safety for the City of Yellowknife.

The city has been at an extreme fire hazard rating since Sunday. Last year, at the start of what many in the territory believe was the NWT's worst forest fire season ever, a city ban wasn't in effect until June 17. It was briefly lifted June 22 and then re-implemented shortly afterwards for the remainder of the summer.

"When there's extremely dry conditions with no water in the ground and we're expecting sunny hot weather, that's where the fire ban becomes that extra precaution," said Marchiori. "When we know our fire situation is extreme, add six days to that and it means probably right after the weekend we'll have a ban. If we all of a sudden get rain on the weekend, that could diminish the risk."

Whether this could be the case for the upcoming weekend, Marchiori did not give a prediction, noting conditions could change.

In territorial parks, fire bans are ordered by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment and Marchiori said the department tends to follow the city's lead.

The fire ratings are based on data from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR), which shares the data when the fire season begins on May 1 every year, spokesperson Judy McLinton told Yellowknifer.

"We do daily weather briefings which is what determines the weather and conditions," McLinton said. "It determines what kind of fire behaviours we can expect."

The first briefing this year came on May 4, McLinton said, and by May 7 the department was releasing them daily. Last year, she said those briefings also started some time around mid-May.

Due to the dry conditions in this fourth year of drought in the region, McLinton said fire crews have been trained early.

"Crews were brought on early this years and trained early because of the drought conditions, the extremely dry conditions," said McLinton. "We've finished fitness training. In the North Slave, South Slave and Deh Cho crews are on base."

The NWT Fire Live Map provided by ENR shows the nearest fire burning to Yellowknife is near Chedabucto Lake, close to the west shore of Great Slave Lake's North Arm. But McLinton said this is an over-winter fire - remaining from last season. Crews are currently assessing whether any other over-winter fires, aside from those already identified, remain.

Last year's fire season, which no Yellowknifer will soon forget, ramped up in early to mid-June, with five wildfires burning in the North Slave by June 13. This year, nearly a month behind that marker, small fires have sparked and been put out within the city and residents are urged to take precaution - although an official ban has yet to come down.

It isn't hard to recognize that the summer came particularly early this year - perhaps entirely overtaking the spring - and historical data from Environment Canada supports this. In 2014, the month of May saw only one day where temperatures rose above 20 C. This year, before the month is out there's been two days cresting over 20 C and four days where temperatures sat just under, at 19 C.

"We need two to three good days of rain, a cool period and maybe more rain," said Marchiori. "Right now we're really lacking for water in our forests."

Representative with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment could not be reached for comment by press time.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.