Hay River in ‘extremely close call’ over wildfire near town

A person-caused wildfire quickly caught by firefighters represented an “extremely close call” in Hay River, the territorial government says.

On Saturday evening, the NWT’s wildfire agency said Hay River’s fire department and a territorial wildfire team had quickly extinguished a suspected person-caused fire on Hay River’s Oxbow Trail, which winds through an area of Vale Island.

“At the scene were charred stumps and smouldering surrounded by thick, continuous forest and extremely dry fuel which could have ignited and grown fast,” the agency stated.

“This is exactly the kind of fire which can lead to communities being at threat.

“It’s exactly why there is a fire ban in place as the South Slave faces drought – and therefore volatile fire conditions.”

That fire ban, imposed for almost all of the South Slave including its parks, is unprecedented and reflects the scale of the threat in the region, as well as the limited resources on which the NWT can currently call.

Meanwhile, the number of fires in the region continues to grow.

A series of newly discovered wildfires within 15 km of the Taltson hydro dam, on the far side of the Taltson River, grew significantly on Saturday, while a crew is also fighting a new lightning-caused fire 14 km northeast of Fort Smith, on the far side of the Slave River.

The Smith’s Landing First Nation separately said 133 people are now working on a wildfire known as the Myer’s Lake Fire, southeast of Fort Fitzgerald. That fire has not jumped the river to Hay Camp but has burned more than 50,000 hectares to date.

The First Nation said it had held a ceremony on Friday evening “for all locally available fire personnel from each jurisdiction, in light of the recent deaths and the incredibly difficult fire season.”

“We are deeply appreciative of the work of all these dedicated men and women,” the First Nation added in a statement, “and continue to send out prayers that they all return home safely each and every day.”