Fort Smith introduces partial fire ban

Fort Smith has become one of the first NWT communities to restrict fires ahead of what’s expected to be a second consecutive severe summer for wildfires.

The town’s partial fire ban came into effect at 1pm on Monday within the municipal boundary.

Any fire except one in an approved backyard fire pit is banned and all previously issued permits cancelled for the ban’s duration, the town’s protective services team wrote on Facebook.

Approved fire pits must be built from materials that won’t burn and located at least two metres from any structure, with a diameter of less than one metre. The fire within them must remain less than one metre in height.

Fort Smith residents spent more than a month away from their homes during last summer’s evacuation.

A huge complex of fires inside Wood Buffalo National Park burned north until it reached the edge of the town last summer, while fires also came close to Fort Smith from the north.