Firefighters taken away from wildfire near dam
Fire out of control 70 kms south of
Behchoko; power outages in Yellowknife
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Saturday, August 6, 2016
NORTH SLAVE
Fire crews fighting an out of control firest fire near the Snare River dam were demobilized Aug. 5 even though the 205 square-kilometre blaze caused two power outages over little more than a week.
This aerial photo taken on July 31 shows a huge fire burning near the Snare hydroelectric complex about 70 kilometres north of Behchoko. The fire is being blamed for two blackouts in the North Slave region in little more than a week. - photo courtesy of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
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That is according to Judy McLinton, spokesperson for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR).
"There is going to be a downturn in the weather this weekend so the crews are being demobilized today," McLinton stated in an e-mail the same day. "If it heats up again (this) week, crews may be mobilized again."
Essentially that means because rain was in the forecast crews were being pulled off the fire. Environment Canada was calling for rain Aug. 5 but sunny skies over the weekend.
Although crews were being pulled off the fire, a fire technician and a crew of four were expected to remain in the Frank Channel area and monitor the fire.
The fire, about 70 kilometres north of Behchoko, is considered out of control and too big to fight, according to ENR officials. It is one of 11 wildfires in the NWT that are considered either out of control or being held. But it is that stubborn fire near Snare that continues to cause the most grief for North Slave residents.
That fire is getting the blame for an approximately 45-minute power outage in hydro communities across the North Slave a little after midnight on Aug 5. According to Pam Coulter, spokesperson for the NWT Power Corporation (NTPC), the fire has grown.
"Fire activity near NTPC transmission lines between the Snare hydroelectric site and Yellowknife has increased again and was likely the cause of (the) outage," Coulter stated in an e-mail. "We restored hydro initially, however the line did not hold and our crews restored the second time on diesel. The specific cause and potential damage are being investigated."
Coulter added that NTPC workers would continue to clear brush from hydro poles.
The North Slave, including Yellowknife, was getting its power from the diesel-powered Jackfish generating plant as of Aug 5. Hydro power was expected to be restored to Yellowknife later in the day while Behchoko remained on diesel.
The same fire caused a power outage in the North Slave on July 28. The North Slave again relied on power from Jackfish until repairs were made to a fire-damaged power line. Both initial power outages were followed by shorter blackouts which occurred while power was being switched from Snare to Jackfish, according to NTPC.
No serious problems or damage have been reported after the latest blackouts but because they happened late at night many people woke up to blinking alarm clocks.
There is another fire about 10 kilometres from the Snare fire that ENR is monitoring. It is described as being about 120 square kilometres in size and was only about 4.5 kilometres from the Fortune Mineral Nico exploration site, about 50 kilometres northeast of Whati. One crew was working on that fire, protecting nearby buildings and infrastructure, according to ENR.
As of Aug. 4, 173 wildfires had been reported in the NWT this season, burning about 1,835 square kilometres. Of those fires, 103 have now been declared out, 58 are being monitored and 13 are being actively fought. Two of those 13 are deemed under control, according to ENR.
The forecast was for hot, dry conditions with warmer than normal temperatures in the southern part of the NWT while cooler temperatures were prevailing in the NWT's north.
Last year at this time there had been 213 fires in the NWT. About one third of the land that burned last summer has burned this year. This year's fire season has been slightly less severe than the average over the past 20 years.
South Slave region
A relatively small fire, about two square kilometres in size, was burning about 40 kilometres from Fort Smith last week. Crews had attacked the fire and were mopping up, according to ENR.
Dehcho region
A fire that was burning about 10 kilometres from Fort Liard on Aug. 2 was being monitored. It was not expected to grow toward the community, according to ENR.
Sahtu region
A fire about 130 kilometres northwest of Gameti was being monitored, ENR stated on its website.
