Swift response to Monday's wildfire in Fort Smith, N.W.T., fire chief says

A small wildfire that broke out in Fort Smith, N.W.T. on Aug. 12 brought back memories of last year's fires, said the town's fire chief Adam McNab.

The wildfire was declared Monday afternoon but has since been contained.

The Aug. 12 fire came a year to the day after a 2023 wildfire forced residents of Fort Smith to evacuatethe town.

The local fire department and N.W.T. Fire responded to the incident, as did two air tanker crews and helicopters from Alberta and Parks Canada.

McNab said that the response to Monday's fire was swift.

"Fortunately crews were able to get on it very quickly, a number of crews from a number of agencies and we were able to contain that fire very rapidly," McNab said.

"There was a lot of concern as the events were unfolding yesterday and as I sit here with you today, there's a lot of smoke in the air," McNab said.

"I think that people are are on edge definitely and aware of the risks that are associated with a wildfire on a hot, dry day in August."

As of Tuesday morning, the cause of the fire had not been declared and an investigation was still under way, McNab said.

"It was clear that it wasn't started by anybody's backyard fires," he said.

However, McNab added, that preliminary findings are that the fire was human-caused.