Fire threat to Reid Lake cabins ebbs
Voluntary evacuation at Pickerel Lake, part of Ingraham Trail closed, man escapes from behind fire blockade
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Friday, August 7, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A controlled burn carried out near Reid Lake Wednesday evening appears to have reduced the danger to several cabins and the campground in the area, according to officials with the territorial government.
The Reid Lake fire had been approaching cabins in the area but the imminent danger has since been reduced. - photo courtesy of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources |
No cabins have been destroyed or damaged, said Judy McLinton, spokeswoman for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR).
The fire, which prompted an evacuation order for the Reid Lake area and the closure of the Ingraham Trail past the campground, has burned approximately 320-square kilometres as of yesterday afternoon.
Flames that evening came within 100 to 200 metres of Maureen Tonge's cabin on the north side of the lake, about two kilometres from the campground.
She lauded the efforts of fire crews for their work this week.
"ENR was incredible in their efforts," she told Yellowknifer on Thursday.
Her husband and three others hosed down the property Wednesday as flames approached and ENR set up sprinklers. They were allowed in to collect valuables before leaving the area.
"By the sounds of it, ENR is doing all they can," she said.
The couple had spent the past three years clearing an area around the cabin and the woods to act as a fire break.
Hal Logsdon told Yellowknifer he attempted to fly into the area several nights ago but wasn't able to get close. He could tell the fire was very close to his cabin.
On Thursday said he had been called by ENR telling him his cabin remains safe.
"I'm quite thankful that they're out there and fought the fire," he said about the fire crews.
After the evacuation order was issued Wednesdayb barriers were erected on the highway about 65 kilometres east the city, a man attempting to leave was caught on the wrong side of the fire.
"We received a call from an individual who was unable to pass through the smoke conditions," said David Maguire, a spokesman for Municipal and Community Affairs.
Maguire said there are photos that show smoke and fire at the roadside. After several hours, an ENR crew reached him and escorted him past the area on fire.
Maguire said because of the quickly developing situation, the man was caught beyond the road closure.
"If anyone is in trouble, we definitely encourage them to contact us or the RCMP," he said, adding that no one should be in the area now.
Despite the controlled burn, the fire is still active.
"The area is still critically dry and fire behaviour is expected to be extreme (Thursday) and (Friday)," states a post on a GNWT-run Facebook page.
There were six crews with five people each working on the fire as well as two helicopters and two air tankers.
A voluntary evacuation in the Pickerel Lake area has been recommended, according to a GNWT news release Thursday afternoon.
The government is also asking people to avoid travelling to areas beyond Powder Point on the Ingraham Trail and avoid areas hard to access such as Hidden Lake because of the potential for the fire to rapidly change.
According to the Facebook post, sprinklers are being placed around cabins at Peninsula Lake and Defeat Lake as a precaution should the fire move toward that area and more fire crews were expected to arrive Thursday.
The post stated that mop-up efforts are expected to take three to four days.
