N.W.T. crews bulldoze path around Wrigley against new, small wildfire

Fire crews in the N.W.T. are bulldozing a space around the community boundary of Wrigley as a new, small wildfire burns 19 kilometres away.

The fire, which is southeast of Wrigley, started Aug. 17.

Mike Westwick, a wildfire information officer with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said Tuesday afternoon that the fire was last mapped at 1,579 hectares in size, well up from 197 hectares in size noted the same morning.

Westwick saidthe fire as ofTuesday afternoonhas not burned to the top of Bell Ridge. Instead, southerly winds arepushing the fire parallel to the ridge.

"While the community is not at threat at this time, that may change quickly. Due to warming and drying trends, wind and terrain, we expect conditions to be very challenging over the coming days," he said.

"We're regularly assessing this fire and advising emergency managers at the local, regional and territorial level as they make decisions about how to respond."

He said the bulldozers are creating a "fuel break" a space where there are no bushes, trees and other burnable things in order to choke the fire's growth, along with other measures like structure protection.

"We have dozer lines being set up near Smith Creek, for instance, so folks are going to see crews at work in that area," Westwick said.

Air tankers are also helping out with that fire.

Kyle Clille, the interim band manager for Pedzh K First Nation in Wrigley, said Monday the community is expecting a lot of smoke to blow through. While the fire is small, he said they are concerned about the direction it's heading in.

If it spreads another kilometre and a half toward the community, he said they would start getting elders and youth out of Wrigley.

"We are working very hard to protect our community," Clille said.

"We need rain all I can say is we really need rain for the fire."

Fire near Fort Smith

On Monday, the department called a voluntary evacuation of the Taltson Dam area near Fort Smith a precautionary measure as a 9,000-hectare wildfire burns 38 kilometres northeast of the town.

It's still very smoky there, Westwick said, and it's expected to remain so for days yet.

Westwick said crews have set up sprinklers to protect structures in the area, and informed two cabin owners of the potential risk.

"We do just want to hit home that the community of Fort Smith is not at threat at this time, and our team is going to be continuing to work hard on that fire in the coming days," he said.

Smoke concerns

Westwick said the biggest concern the department is hearing from residents throughout the territory is about smoke blanketing communities.

He pointed to a fire in the North Slave, west of Marion Lake, which is now nearly 22,000 hectares in size and sending plenty of smoke across Tch communities and into Yellowknife.

"Something I'd like to hit home is just that crews out there need your help right now, folks. We really can't afford any man-caused fires," Westwick said.

Nearly twice the amount of land has burned this year compared to the five-year average, and Westwick said the number of fires this year has exceeded the 10-year average as well.

As of Tuesday morning, more than 400,000 hectares had been affected.

Fire danger is still high or extreme in most areas, except for the Beaufort-Delta.

"It's certainly unseasonal, to be seeing hot, dry weather this late in the season, and we're investing a whole ton of resources in order to respond to that and make sure the communities are safe as we face this down," Westwick said.