Firefighters take stock of N.W.T. fires as cooler, wet weather expected to end

Firefighters trying to keep wildfires at bay from the city of Yellowknife were taking stock of the situation Sunday morning after cooler, damp weather gave them a break Saturday.

“What we’re looking at doing is scanning a section of the fire and seeing what areas might be appropriate for direct attack,” said fire information officer Mike Westwick. “(We’ll be) putting boots on the ground right in front of the fire and suppressing sections of it.”

Crews will use infrared sensors to figure out where the fire is vulnerable, although Westwick said the fireline is so long that the teams will focus on the most critical areas.

Fires remained about 15 kilometres from the deserted, smoky city, which is almost completely evacuated. Only a couple thousand of the northern capital’s 20,000 people remain and about half of them are emergency workers.

About four millimetres of rainfall Saturday gave firefighters a chance to build control lines on Yellowknife’s western edge, Westwick said.

Fuel breaks have been dug, and sprinkler and water systems installed.

“That work is substantially complete, which is really good news,” said Westwick. “We’re making good progress.”

However, temperatures were expected to rise, humidity to fall and winds to strengthen on Sunday.

“We do expect by the afternoon that we’re going to see some drying and some fire activity again.”

Still, Westwick said the fire was not expected to reach Yellowknife either Sunday or Monday.

A special effort was also undertaken to ensure Yellowknife’s homeless population was safe.

“There was significant outreach to people experiencing homelessness,” Westwick said. “There was good success getting them set up with supports in Alberta.”

On Saturday, a black bear had to be scared away from the airport, near where helicopters were taking off. Westwick said there is a chance that the flames were forcing animals out of their regular habitat.

Meanwhile, the fires continued to menace other communities in the territory. Only eight kilometres separated Hay River from the nearest fire, although winds were expected to force those blazes back on themselves Sunday.

Fort Smith wasn’t to be so lucky. Although crews have been building fire breaks and sprinklers lines to protect the town, winds were expected to blow directly into the town.

“They’ve got some troubling winds coming their way,” Westwick said. “The fire’s going to be coming right at them.”

Environment and Climate Change Minister Shane Thompson said that over the last week, 68 per cent of the territory’s population have left due to fires.

No date has been set for anyone to return.