$3.8M in new money for wildfire fighting in the N.W.T. this season

The government of the Northwest Territories will put an extra $3.8 million into this year's wildfire fighting budget. That's on top of the $14 million already budgeted for the season.

The extra money is meant to beef up aerial patrolsand increase wildfire fighting crews across the territory.

Under normal circumstances the territory could rely on regular commercial or charter flights for reports on wildfire flare-ups, but with the decrease in air traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic, the territory won't be able to rely on that.

Instead, more planes and helicopters will be put in the air to help with smoke spotting, in what the territory promises will be a new and more aggressive approach to wildfire management in the N.W.T.

"We'll be doing a lot more smoke patrols in an effort to find fires as soon as they start," saidMike Gravel, the N.W.T.director of forest management. "And then we will be looking to position additional crews across the territory, so hiring additional crews for the summer."

In a briefing with media earlier this week, theN.W.T. manager of wildfire operations said the territory was bracing for a hot fire season, expected to be more active than the past two seasons.

Fires will be attacked earlier than usual to put them out before they grow, he said.