Fire fighting efforts displayed
More than 100 firefighters and support personnel using Reid Lake campground as headquarters to fight blaze
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Friday, August 14, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Just shy of a week after the Reid Lake Territorial Park Campground was evacuated of campers, the site has dozens of tents set up and is crisscrossed by young firefighters covered in dirt from their efforts.
Frank McKay, a community engagement co-ordinator with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, talks about the response to the Reid Lake fire Tuesday evening. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo |
The site is headquarters for NWT and Alberta firefighters tackling what's called the Reid Lake fire, which has affected more than 320 square kilometres, threatened cabins and shut down the eastern portion of Highway 4. More than 100 people, including support personnel, now inhabit the campground.
As off-duty firefighters go for a swim in the lake, the thwack-thwack-thwack of helicopters and the hum of a generator powering the mobile command centre can be heard.
"We kind of lucked out," said Frank McKay, a community engagement co-ordinator with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR), referring to the campground's infrastructure.
Unlike areas further out in the bush, the campground has space for tents, helicopters to land, bathrooms, showers and areas for food preparation.
Tuesday evening the department took several reporters on a helicopter tour of the Reid Lake fire and the campground.
Reporters watched a helicopter land on a rocky lake shore so crews could go to a cabin nearby to start sprinklers to protect the structure. In the forest a few hundred metres away, smoke rose
from several fires.
Elsewhere, Reid Lake fire incident commander Lawrence Lewis pointed out streaks of red fire retardant dropped from planes across swaths of trees and around cabins in an effort to halt advancing flames.
Stew Walkinshaw has been coming up with the plans to protect what fire crews call "values at risk," referring to things like cabins and the campground.
There's been three to four "close calls," he said.
Along the northeastern shore of Reid Lake, Lewis pointed out several cabins with charred trees only metres away. But
the cabins still stand.
Walkinshaw emphasized how important it is for cabin owners to help protect their assets by clearing trees and brush from around cabins.
"It helps me out in the long run," he said.
Jordan Sykes, 29, is one of about 40 firefighters brought in from Alberta.
He said the landscape is easier to navigate than what he is used to, but provide a challenge nonetheless - the fire gets deep into cracks between rocks making it difficult to put out.
In an updated posted to Facebook on Wednesday, the department stated the fire is burning deep in places, making fires in those areas harder to extinguish.
The crews stay at the campground overnight and are transported to where they're needed in the morning. Sykes described waking up around 7:30 a.m. and arriving on the fire line around 10 a.m.
Crews return to the campground around 7 p.m. for supper, he said.
High winds Tuesday prevented crews from working on the ground, according to the department.
"It's not so bad if it's gusty, but not when it's (windy) all day," Lewis said, while observing the southeastern flank of the fire from the air.
The extreme dry conditions - despite some sprinkles of rain recently - have left Lewis worried about the Reid Lake fire.
Efforts continue to protect cabins and recreational properties around Reid, Peninsula, Terry and Little Pickerel lakes.
The campground and highway in the area remain closed.
The reason why parts of the highway remain closed is evident from the air.
Portions were being used for helicopters to land and water hoses could be seen slung across the road. The air space is also limited because of water bomber activity, so those with recreational planes have been told to stay away.
McKay, one of the few fire crew members authorized to speak to the media, said they've created a roster of fire personnel because someone recently tried getting past the Highway 4 roadblock by pretending to work for the department.
