Fire season not nearly as bad as last year
Officials say this year's fires burned area only one-fifth in size to previous season
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Monday, August 31, 2015
NWT
With just one month left in the official wildfire season, early predictions of a worse year over last have not come true.
This aerial photo taken on Aug. 11, shows a fire burning east of Yellowknife near Reid Lake. The fire is currently about 335-square kilometres in size but is not being directly fought because it is not threatening any structures. The 2015 fire season is not nearly as bad as last year in terms of area burnt and properties lost, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. - NNSL file photo
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The amount of land burned this year in the NWT is only about one-fifth the area of what burned in 2014, according to Richard Olsen, manager of fire operations with the territorial government's Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR).
About 6,220-square kilometres have burned this year compared to approximately 34,150-square kilomtres last year, Olsen said.
"To date in the NWT there have been 241 fires, 61 of which are still burning," said Olsen.
"In comparison to 2014 we ended up with 385 fires ... so we're well below the number from last year and very well below the total area that was burned.
"In respect to our 20-year average though, we're over by about 50 fires. Our 20-year average is 196 fires (per season). We're about 200,000 hectares (2,000 square kilometres) burned more than we would in an average year."
There were 655 fires in 1994, arguably the worst forest fire season ever in the NWT, according to Olsen.
Olsen is quick to point out the wildfire season is not over quite yet.
"We can probably expect, based on historical numbers, anywhere from 20 to 50 more fires, so we're averaging that to about 30 more fires until the season is officially over," Olsen said. "With the existing fires that are burning, we still expect that anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000 (4,000 to 10,000 square kilometres) of area could burn up until snowfall."
There are currently no personnel or crews directly battling fires in the NWT, Olsen said. That is despite the fact that a fire east of Yellowknife, known as the Reid Lake, continues to burn out of control. That fire is now estimated to be about 335 square kilometres in size but it is not currently threatening any infrastructure, including cabins, lodges, hydro plants or power lines.
"We do have a little bit of cleanup on some fires, taking down sprinkler systems and work back at the bases, cleaning up equipment, hoses and other fire materials, getting ready for future use," said Olsen.
He added that three of five helicopters are being scaled back as well with one helicopter remaining active at least until Sept. 1.
There will also be one air tanker left in service until the end of the month. It is based in Yellowknife, Olsen said.
"Of the 28 fire crews we normally have on strength, eight still remain. They are in the Deh Cho, South Slave and North Slave regions," said Olsen.
There are usually about five firefighters to a crew.
"As of Aug. 5 we had hired 380 emergency firefighters for help in various aspects, including training to working on the fire lines to logistics."
Those firefighters are separate from front-line firefighters. Olsen did not have the numbers of emergency firefighters that were used last year.
"The weather really co-operated and we have had a significant amount of rain in several areas that have brought out overall fuel moisture conditions right down," Olsen said.
"In some areas the drought code had reduced itself to what we would normally expect it to be at this time of year, specifically in areas around Fort Smith and the Deh Cho. That being said, there still remains some dry areas around Great Slave Lake, especially in the Yellowknife area. We're still looking at drought conditions well in excess of what we would normally see in that area at this time of year."
Olsen said there are at least a couple of reasons other than the weather as to why the fire season hasn't been as bad as last year. Early in the season, fire crews took a more aggressive stance on fires that showed long-term potential, he said, adding that because so much land burned last summer, there was less fuel to burn for fires this year.
Complaint that $100,000 in firewood was allowed to burn
Olsen said he will be looking into a report that as much as 300 cords of wood, valued at $100,000, were lost during a controlled back burn. It is not clear where the fire is supposed to have taken place or who owns the property. Olsen said he would report back once he was updated on exactly what happened.
There were two major losses due to wildfires in the NWT last year - a Hoarfrost River homestead on the East Arm of Great Slave Lake and the Moraine Point Lodge south of Yellowknife.
"It was comforting (this year) to know that our people were doing well and helping to protect people's values and were doing so safely" said Olsen.
The fire situation in the NWT was so moderate this month that ENR was able to free up 10 people, including Olsen, to go to Oregon and help with one of the worst fire seasons in that state's history.
The forest fire season in the NWT officially ends on Sept. 30.
