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Cabins flood near Tulita
Ice jam on Great Bear River threatens nearly 20 structures in Willow Lake area

Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Monday, May 23, 2016

TULITA/FORT NORMAN
Some of nearly 20 cabins at Willow Lake north of Tulita have flooded and others were in danger of flooding last week as waters continued to rise on the Great Bear River.

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A Tulita elder's cabin was flooded after Willow Lake overflowed last week. Ice on Great Bear River was jammed where it meets the Mackenzie River. - photos courtesy of Jonathan Yakeleya

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A smokehouse sits in flood water at Willow Lake outside Tulita on May 17. An ice jam where the Great Bear River meets the Mackenzie River flooded the area.

NNSL photo/graphic

The inside of a flooded cabin at Willow Lake.

"We have an elder, her name is Theresa Clement, her cabin is right in the water," said Tulita resident Gordon Yakeleya. "I think this one is going to be a bad one."

Willow Lake is a traditional hunting and fishing area used by residents of the Sahtu.

According to the Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy, it is an area known for being a critical habitat for waterfowl.

"It's an old traditional area for people," said Yakeleya. "It was used a lot in the past and is still."

Yakeleya said his son was in the Willow Lake area last week and was providing him with photos and updates.

Roberto Moretti, Tulita's senior administrative officer, said an ice jam on Great Bear River was causing the flood. The Great Bear River flows into the Mackenzie River at Tulita.

"Normally the Bear River ice breaks before the Mackenzie and this year it's the reverse. The Mackenzie broke first and there is still a little bit of ice on the shoreline of the town of Tulita," he said.

"So the Bear River is still breaking up, but it's not fully broken up so until it fully breaks up into the Mackenzie, it's just causing the water to back flow into Willow Lake area."

Eight hunters remained in the area as of May 20, but a helicopter was scheduled to retrieve seven of them on May 21.

One hunter was expected to stay behind to continue hunting, Moretti said.

The helicopter had brought the group to the Willow Lake area earlier this month to go moose hunting. Temperatures were expected to warm up and ice was expected to break through over the weekend, Moretti said.

"It was raining and snowing (May 16 to 18) this week, so the weather hasn't helped either," he said. "It's been on the cooler side."

Yakeleya said residents had been planning to contact Sahtu MLA Danny McNeely about getting help to retrieve items from cabins to minimize damage, but Moretti said he believed the damage had already been done.

"It's too late for that," he said.

"The pictures that I was shown, most of them are already flooded. Only the few that are on higher ground around the shore will be safe."

Moretti urged travellers to be careful.

"They just have to be cautious if they do go in that area," he said.

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