Largest fire in NWT burns near Wrigley
Another ignited near Fort Liard
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, June 30, 2016
PEHDZEH KI/WRIGLEY
Record temperatures are expected to hit the Northwest Territories this week, but the danger for a 15-square-kilometre fire burning near Wrigley is down, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
A plane was spotted flying over the site of a fire at the top of the hill that leads to Fort Liard. - photo courtesy of James Bugghins
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The fire started on June 20 northwest of Wrigley and threatened four structures on the south side of Blackwater Lake.
The department could not say what those structures are but fire operations manager Rick Olsen said the department put two crews on the fire.
Thanks to rain, he said, the fire is now just being monitored.
"We were doing limited action to prepare for value protection ... but there's been a significant amount of rain up there," he said.
"At this point in time, they've pulled (their crews) off to just monitor the fire conditions."
Olsen said the fire is two square kilometres smaller than previously thought. On the department's NWT Fire website, it is still listed at 17 square kilometres.
The discrepancy, he said, was due to the department's computer monitoring system.
"As we do mapping and get better information on the fire itself, we sometimes modify those sizes," he said.
Seven fires started over the weekend, including a 20,000 square metre fire five kilometres east of Fort Liard.
"That's being initial attacked with crews and air support," said Amber Simpson, the department's wildfire information officer.
According to the department's website, six of the new fires began in the South Slave, all caused by lightning strikes.
One began June 24 and is receiving limited action. The other five were ignited on June 26 and are being monitored.
The South Slave currently has 11 active fires. Five of those began June 27 after the department's weekly fire update.
One of those fires, estimated at 10,000 square metres in size, is 41 kilometres from Fort Providence.
As of the afternoon of June 27, the department reported 24 fires in total for 2016, burning approximately 152 square kilometres. Twelve had been declared out, with 10 being monitored and two receiving action from crews.
